The new Turkey
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2019 United States Department of State • Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

20-mar-20

More from the report:

Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from: a. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings b. Disappearance c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Prison and Detention Center Conditions d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees e. Denial of Fair Public Trial Trial Procedures Political Prisoners and Detainees Politically Motivated Reprisal Against Individuals Located Outside the Country Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies Property Restitution f. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence g. Abuses in Internal Conflict

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties a. Freedom of Expression, Including for the Press Internet Freedom Academic Freedom and Cultural Events b. Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association Freedom of Peaceful Assembly Freedom of Association c. Freedom of Religion: See the Department of State’s International Religious Freedom Report at https://www.state.gov/ religiousfreedomreport d. Freedom of Movement e. Internally Displaced Persons f. Protection of Refugees g. Stateless Persons

Section 3. Freedom to Participate in the Political Process

Section 4. Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Abuses of Human Rights

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons Women Children Anti-Semitism Trafficking in Persons: See the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at https://www.state.gov/trafficking- in-persons-report Persons with Disabilities National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities Acts of Violence, Discrimination, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity HIV and AIDS Social Stigma Other Societal Violence or Discrimination

Section 7. Worker Rights a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment d. Discrimination with Respect to Employment and Occupation e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

The constitution and law prohibit torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, but domestic and international rights groups reported that some police officers, prison authorities, and military and intelligence units employed the practices. Domestic human rights organizations, the Ankara Bar Association (ABA), political opposition figures, international human rights groups, and others reported that government agents engaged in threats, mistreatment, and possible torture of some persons while in custody.

In late May public reports alleged that as many as 100 persons, including former members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed under the 2016-18 state of emergency decrees due to suspected ties to the Gulen movement, were mistreated or tortured while in police custody. The ABA released a report that detailed its interviews with alleged victims. Of the six detainees the ABA interviewed, five reported police authorities tortured them. According to their testimonies, authorities blindfolded them and made them kneel, dragged them across a room, hit them on the head and body with a baton, and threatened that unless they "talked," batons would be inserted into their rectums. The Turkish National Police denied the claims.

In February 2018 the UN special rapporteur on torture, Nils Melzer, expressed serious concerns about the rising allegations of torture and other mistreatment in Turkish police custody. Melzer said he was alarmed by allegations that large numbers of individuals suspected of links to the Gulen movement or PKK were exposed to brutal interrogation techniques aimed at extracting forced confessions or coercing detainees to incriminate others. Reported abuse included severe beatings, electrical shocks, exposure to icy water, sleep deprivation, threats, insults, and sexual assault. The special rapporteur stated authorities appeared not to have taken any serious measures to investigate these allegations or to hold perpetrators accountable.

In Van three Kurdish minors between the ages of 14 and 17 said they were subjected to torture while in police custody in February. The youth told the Van Bar Association that police beat them with batons, kicked them in the head, and forced their heads into toilet bowls. On September 15, media reported the prosecutor in the case asked the Van governorship for permission to investigate 66 police officers implicated in the complaint. The governorate denied the request, stating that the officers "used proportionate force" against the victims.

Human rights groups also reported torture and mistreatment of persons in police custody. Reports indicated that police abused detainees outside police station premises and that mistreatment and alleged torture was more prevalent in some police facilities in parts of the southeast, including Sanliurfa and Van. The Human Rights Association (HRA) reported that during the first six months of the year, it received 65 complaints that alleged torture or inhuman treatment in the east and southeast regions.

The HRA also reported that intimidation and shaming of detainees by police were common and that victims hesitated to report abuse due to fear of reprisal. The HRA reported separately that in the first 11 months of the year, it received 840 complaints of abuse by security forces, including 422 complaints alleging torture and inhuman treatment. In December the minister of interior reported the ministry had received 31 complaints in 2018 alleging abuse while in custody.

The government asserted that it followed a "zero tolerance" policy for torture. Human Rights Watch (HRW) maintained, however, that it was "not aware of any serious measures that have been taken to investigate credible allegations of torture." In its World Report 2018, HRW stated: "Cases of torture and ill-treatment in police custody were widely reported through 2017, especially by individuals detained under the antiterror law, marking a reverse in long-standing progress, despite the government's stated policy of zero tolerance for torture.

There were widespread reports of police beating detainees, subjecting them to prolonged stress positions and threats of rape, threats to lawyers, and interference with medical examinations." According to 2018 Ministry of Justice statistics, the government opened 2,196 investigations related to allegations of abuse. Of those, 1,035 resulted in nonprosecution, 766 resulted in criminal cases, and 395 in other decisions. The government did not release data on its investigations into alleged torture. Human rights groups asserted that individuals with alleged affiliation with the PKK or the Gulen movement were more likely to be subjected to harsh treatment.

A May report by the Sanliurfa Bar Association alleged that officials tortured 54 men, women, and children in Halfeti, Sanliurfa Province, on May 18. The report asserted the individuals were subjected to torture in detention following the death of a police officer in the town.

Some military conscripts endured severe hazing, physical abuse, and torture that sometimes resulted in death or suicide. The Association for Suspicious Military Deaths and Victims reported there were 202 suspicious deaths between 2012 and 2015, with the numbers decreasing each year during that period. The HRA and HRFT reported at least 17 deaths as suspicious deaths during the year. In July the HRA reported a Kurdish soldier serving in Adapazari was severely beaten by other soldiers in his brigade because of his ethnic identity.

Source: https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/
2020/03/TURKEY-2019-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf