İnan Süver is a Turkish

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

who served a prison term for desertion from the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; , TSK) are the armed forces, military forces of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey. The TAF consist of the Turkish Army, Land Forces, the Turkish Navy, Naval Forces and the Turkish Air Force, Air Forces. The Chief of ...

. Süver was drafted by the Turkish Armed Forces in 2001. He served for thirteen months before deserting, apparently on a release with an order to return to his unit. Though Süver stated that he was unaware of the principle of conscientious objection at the time of his desertion, he declared himself a conscientious objector in a letter to the military in 2009. In May 2010, he told a reporter, "widespread knowledge about conscientious objection would be the end of the war": On 5 August 2010, Süver was arrested in his home on an outstanding warrant for

desertion Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...

. He was then taken to military prison in Istanbul. On 24 August, the Aegean Armed Forces Command Court found Süver guilty of "infringement of leave". He had three previous convictions for desertion. On 8 October, Süver was transferred to

Buca prison Buca (, ) is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 178 km2, and its population is 522,404 (2022). It is the biggest district of İzmir Province as terms of population. It covers the southeastern part of the agglo ...

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

, where he was repeatedly hospitalized as a result of his health deteriorating from hunger strikes. On 5 April 2011, he was transferred to Manisa Saruhanlı semi-open prison, which he escaped sixteen days later. He was re-arrested the following day at the home of a friend, and returned to Buca prison. In 2010,

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

and

War Resisters' International War Resisters' International (WRI), headquartered in London, is an international anti-war organisation with members and affiliates in over 40 countries. History ''War Resisters' International'' was founded in Bilthoven, Netherlands in 1921 un ...

issued calls for Süver's release, with War Resisters' International adding their fears that he would face torture or other ill-treatment during his imprisonment. Amnesty International also named him a

prisoner of conscience A prisoner of conscience (POC) is anyone imprisoned because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, or political views. The term also refers to those who have been imprisoned or persecuted for the nonviolent expression of their conscienti ...

. When the band U2 visited Turkey in September 2010,

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...

called on Prime Minister

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

to investigate Süver's treatment, and reported that Erdoğan agreed to "look into it." Süver was conditionally released from Balıkesir prison on 9 December 2011. In September 2012 he was re-arrested in Istanbul and given a five-month prison sentence for his April 2011 escape. He was released on 12 October, as his previous pre-trial detention also counted toward the sentence. İnan Süver has a wife, Remziye Süver.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suver, Inan Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Turkey Living people Turkish prisoners and detainees Turkish conscientious objectors Year of birth missing (living people)