11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Torture and other Ill-treatment - specific incidents ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22805]

"On March 13, a Diyarbakir woman filed a criminal complaint alleging she was tortured at a police station. In the complaint, she alleged that police took her to an interrogation room when she went to see her husband who had been detained in the station for allegedly stealing a cellular telephone. The police asked her to admit that her husband stole the telephone, and demanded she return it. She alleged that one of the officers held her while the other beat her with a police baton for approximately one hour. The police at the station denied any mistreatment. At year's end the government had not opened an investigation into the incident. 

The Istanbul branch of the Contemporary Lawyers' Association (CHD) documented several cases of prison guards beating inmates during the year. In one incident on June 13, prison guards beat prisoner Kemal Avci when he asked to be sent to a hospital for pain in his hands. In another, prisoner Hakan Ozek was made to stand even though he had a leg injury that required crutches. When Ozek could stand no longer and asked for a chair, guards beat him with clubs. The CHD documented alleged abuse of prisoners Muammer Simsek, Turan Ozen, Ilhan Iseri, Zeynel Erturk, Mesut Omur, and Bulent Pelit.

In mid-June, 24-year-old Mustafa Kurkcu died in detention due to alleged police torture. Police detained Kurkcu on June 14 and took him to the courthouse on June 15 after he and three friends allegedly stole several tires. Later that day, Kurkcu's family witnessed police dragging him, while his hands and feet were cuffed, into a judiciary building to meet with a prosecutor and his court-appointed attorney Abdulaziz Levent. According to Radikal newspaper, Levent later noted that Kurkcu looked to be in very bad condition during that meeting. On June 16, police transferred Kurkcu to Umraniye Prison. On June 17, Kurkcu's family was informed he was dead. Kurkcu's brother-in-law Oktay Ergocer used his cellular telephone to take pictures of Kurkcu's body in the morgue. The pictures showed markings that indicated Kurkcu had been seriously beaten. The Umraniye chief prosecutor initiated an investigation into the incident.

On July 6, Hurriyet newspaper published an expose by reporter Aydin Dogan regarding allegations that two boys, aged 17 and 18, were tortured early in the year by prison officials, while they were imprisoned for 10 days on allegations, later withdrawn, that the boys had committed rape in a boys' shelter. Both boys wrote letters to Dogan detailing how Jandarma officers and prison wardens beat their legs and soles with plastic pipes while laughing. Dogan urged the minister of justice and prime minister to open an investigation into the case. At year's end, HRF reported that no investigation had been opened. 

On July 26, police in Istanbul beat Sinan Tekpetek, a leader of 52 Percent, a group that protests Turkey's university entrance exam system, and editor of 52 Percent Anger magazine and Ozgur Hayat (Free Life) newspaper. In a July 28 press conference at HRA's Istanbul office, Tekpetek said that, as he drove home from a party on July 2, police pulled him over and asked for identification, then, together with several other officers from another car, sprayed him with tear gas and beat him. He stated the police drove him to a field and with approximately seven more officers continued to beat him before driving off with him and throwing him out of the moving car. At year's end human rights groups reported the government had not opened an investigation into the case. 

On March 23, an Ankara court doubled the original sentence of four police officers to eight years, 10 months' imprisonment each for torturing and killing Hacattepe University student Birtan Altinbas in 1991 during a six-day interrogation over his membership in a left-wing organization. In 2001 a trial court had convicted the four defendants who were present during the interrogation but reduced the sentence for good behavior to four years and five months. Human rights observers frequently argued that the numerous legal delays in the case demonstrated Turkey's tolerance of torture. On October 23, the Court of Appeals upheld the March 23 verdict.

On March 23, an Ankara court doubled the original sentence of four police officers to eight years, 10 months' imprisonment each for torturing and killing Hacattepe University student Birtan Altinbas in 1991 during a six-day interrogation over his membership in a left-wing organization. In 2001 a trial court had convicted the four defendants who were present during the interrogation but reduced the sentence for good behavior to four years and five months. Human rights observers frequently argued that the numerous legal delays in the case demonstrated Turkey's tolerance of torture. On October 23, the Court of Appeals upheld the March 23 verdict. "

Document(s): Open document

10.2006 - Source: Amnesty International

Man sentenced to lifelong imprisonment after possibly unfair trial in 1996; he is still in detention, although no evidence was found against him; he was reportedly tortured in detention ("Briefe gegen das Vergessen - Türkei") [ID 17727]

Document(s): Open document

12.04.2006 - Source: Amnesty International

Southeastern Turkey: 13 people killed, many injured and hundreds detained during violent protests against killing of 4 members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) by security forces; majority of detainees alleged they were subjected to ill-treatment and torture by security forces ("Turkey: Recent human rights violations must be investigated [EUR 44/005/2006]") [#49020],  [ID 15603]

Document(s): Open document

07.04.2006 - Source: International Federation for Human Rights

Arrests and ill-treatment of several human rights defenders by security forces in different incidents ("Arrests / Ill-treatments / Judicial proceedings - TUR 001 / 0406 / 045") [#48799],  [ID 15535]

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

report on torture and illtreatment in Turkey ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46152],  [ID 14070]

"Incidents of torture and abuse declined during the year but remained widespread. Courts rarely convicted security officials accused of torture and tended to issue light sentences when they did convict . According to the HRF, there were 657 credible cases of torture or abuse reported at its 5 national treatment centers through November. Of these, 180 cases involved torture or abuse inflicted during the year; the rest involved incidents that occurred previously. A number of human rightsobserversclaimed that only a small percentage of detainees reported torture and abuse because they feared retaliation or believed that complaining was futile.

An attorney for Abdulkadir Akgul, Ergin Demir, Cigerhun Erisen, Zubeyit Keserci, and Muzaffer Keserci claimed law enforcement officials tortured his clients during their July detention in Van Province. According to the attorney, security forces were present during his clients' medical examinations, preventing doctors from recording their injuries.

In August Servet Alcinkaya, reporter for the daily Cumhuriyet, claimed Istanbul police severely beat him in detention. He said police held him overnight without allowing him to contact relatives and released him the next day.

In October three juveniles said Ordu police repeatedly beat them, squeezed their testicles, and threatened to rape and kill them while they were held in detention following an incident at a local concert. Medical examinations of the juveniles reportedly confirmed signs of beatings on their bodies.

Also in October, broadcast media outlets aired footage of employees abusing children at the Malatya State Orphanage. Images included employees beating children who were stripped naked and sitting in a bathtub. Several of the children told police their caretakers had forced them to eat excrement. Physicians subsequently examined the children and reported finding evidence that 21 of 46 had been subject to torture, including severe beatings and hot water burns. Authorities pressed charges against five employees and removed four others from their posts. The trial and investigation continued at year's end.

In December Orhan Kara, Velat Haci Ali, Idban Kaplan, Seref Inanc, and Nezir Ayan claimed that police tortured them during their detention in Silopi, Sirnak Province. Erdal Kuzu, an attorney and HRA official who visited the detainees, said police beat the detainees, administered electric shocks to their genitals, forced them to strip and sprayed them with cold water, and placed guns to their heads and threatened to kill them. Kuzu claimed that the prosecutor declined to record the detainees' torture claims, and he claimed the detainees were denied access to prison medical facilities.

There were no developments in the reported 2004 cases of torture of Mehmet Nurettin Basci, Mehmet Gazi Aydin, Sezai Karakus, or several persons detained by police during a raid of the Yeniden Ozlem publishing house.

There were no developments in the investigation of the alleged rape and torture of DEHAP official Gulbahar Gunduz in 2003. Attorneys for Gunduz applied to the ECHR during the year.

Proceedings continued at year's end in the Ankara trial of five police defendants charged with torturing and killing Birtan Altinbas in 1991. The court convicted the defendants in 2004, but the High Court of Appeals returned the case to the lower court on the grounds that the sentences were too lenient.

In September an Istanbul prosecutor charged eight police officers with torturing Firat Develioglu, Emre Nil, Aysegul Huma, and Tugba Babuna, who were detained in 1999 during operations conducted against the Islamist group Adnan Hocacilar. According to the indictment, the officers beat the detainees, handcuffed them to chairs, and squeezed their testicles.

In April an Iskenderun court acquitted four police officers charged with torturing and raping two teenage girls in 1999. The court determined there was insufficient evidence for a conviction. The trial, which began in 2000, had been plagued by repeated procedural delays related to the handling of forensic evidence. The ruling was under appeal at year's end.

Human rights observers said that, because of reduced detention periods, security officials mainly used torture methods that did not leave physical signs, including repeated slapping, exposure to cold, stripping and blindfolding, food and sleep deprivation, threats to detainees or family members, dripping water on the head, isolation, and mock executions. They reported the near elimination of more severe methods, such as electric shocks, high-pressure cold water hoses, rape, beatings on the soles of the feet and genitalia, hanging by the arms, and burns.

Human rights activists, attorneys, and physicians who treated victims said that because of increased punishments for torture and abuse, police who engaged in these practices often did so outside of police detention centers to avoid detection.

Human rights activists maintained that those arrested for ordinary crimes were as likely to suffer torture and ill‑treatment in detention as those arrested for political offenses, although they were less likely to report abuse. Observers said security officials sometimes tortured political detainees to intimidate them and send a warning to others with similar political views. Authorities allegedly tortured ordinary suspects to obtain a confession.

Government-employed doctors administered all medical examinations of detainees. Examinations occurred once during detention and a second time before either arraignment or release; however, the examinations generally were brief and informal. According to the Society of Forensic Medicine Specialists, only approximately 300 of 80 thousand doctors in the country were forensic specialists, and most detainees were examined by general practitioners and specialists not qualified to detect signs of torture. There were forensic medical centers in 34 of 81 provinces. Some former detainees asserted that doctors did not conduct proper examinations and that authorities denied their requests for a second examination.

A justice ministry regulation requires doctor‑patient privacy during the examination of suspects, except where the doctor requests police presence for security reasons. During the year there were fewer complaints of security officials remaining in the room despite objections, according to the Society of Forensic Medicine Specialists.

The law provides for harsh prison sentences and fines for medical personnel who falsify reports to hide torture, those who knowingly use such reports, and those who coerce doctors into making them.In practice there were few prosecutions for violation of these laws."

Document(s): Open document

25.05.2005 - Source: Amnesty International

Cases of torture in Istanbul and Trabzon ("Annual Report 2005") [#32304],  [ID 14071]

"Derya Aksakal was reportedly pulled into a minibus as she was walking along the street in Istanbul on 3 March. She was then blindfolded and questioned about her political activities by three masked men, one of whom she recognized as a police officer. The men reportedly extinguished cigarettes on her body, threatened her with rape and subjected her to a mock execution before releasing her about two hours later.
Aydın Ay was detained on suspicion of theft at Carşı Police Station in Trabzon on 27 October. He alleged that he was stripped naked, given electric shocks and that his testicles were squeezed in order to make him sign documents without knowing the contents."

Document(s): Open document
Open document

19.05.2005 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Cases of torture and ill-treatment ("Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2005 (Events of 2004)") [#32120],  [ID 14072]

"• Aydın Ay complained that he was tortured at Trabzon Security Directorate on 27 October. He said that the police officers inflicted electric shocks on him, squeezed his testicles, and his arm was broken as a result of the treatment. His allegations were certified by a physician after two prior examinations as a result of which the attending physicians reported that he had no health problems. When a HRA delegation visited Trabzon, the public prosecutor said that Ay was not detained, while the Trabzon security director admitted that Ay was detained. When the lawyers in the delegation requested to examine the file of investigation, their request was not granted by the public prosecutor on the grounds of secrecy of investigation. The preliminary investigation on the case continued as of early 2005.

• In the case of 125 persons who reported that they were tortured when they were arrested by the police for opening a “Stand for Peace” in Bingol, the public prosecutor decided not to investigate the case due to lack of evidence.

• The Diyarbakir public prosecutor launched a case against Zülfü Dündar, the attorney of two children who reported torture in Hani district of Diyarbakir in 2003. He was charged with abusing his duty as a lawyer when he objected to the decision of the public prosecutor not to investigate the case.

• The case opened against four police officers for torturing two young girls, Fatma Deniz Polattas and Nazime Ceren Samanoglu, in Iskenderun in 1999 was not concluded in 2004. While the officers remained in their duties and received promotions, Polattas and Samanoglu were convicted on the basis of their confessions reportedly extracted under torture. The two girls were released in December 2004 due to an amendment to the law.

• Serif Dasdemir (Hulya), a transvestite sex worker, was beaten up and arrested in November for resisting the police. The police broke his arm when they intervened in a fight Hulya was having with his client, who allegedly forced him to carry out acts he did not want to. When Hulya resisted, the client reportedly said he was the police and would get Hulya beaten up if he resisted. When the police intervened, Hulya said that he requested the police to lodge a complaint against the client. At year’s end, the case against Hulya was continuing."

Document(s): Open document

03.2005 - Source: Amnesty International

Cases of torture and ill-treatment ("Anliegen in Europa und Zentralasien Juli-Dezember 2004: Türkei") [#32532],  [ID 14073]

"Menschenrechtsgruppen dokumentierten viele Fälle von Folter und Misshandlung einschließlich der Anwendung von Schlägen und Elektroschocks, des Nacktausziehens, der sexuellen Belästigung und der Morddrohungen gegen Festgenommene.

Am 27. Oktober 2004 befand sich Aydın Ay wegen Diebstahlsverdacht auf der Carşı- Polizeistation in Trabzon im Gewahrsam. Er behauptete, dass er dort Folter ausgesetzt gewesen sei, darunter Nacktausziehen und Quetschen der Hoden. Ferner sei er gezwungen worden, Dokumente zu unterschreiben, deren Inhalt er nicht kannte und die ihm nicht vorgelesen worden waren.

Am 17. November 2004 wurde die als Prostituierte arbeitende Transsexuelle “Hülya” in Istanbul von einem Mann mit Waffengewalt bedroht, der sich angeblich selbst als Polizist ausgab und von ihr sexuelle Handlungen forderte. Als sie ablehnte, brachte der Mann sie zu Polizisten, die sie schlugen und festnahmen. Sie wurde auf der Polizeistation fortdauernd geschlagen, auch mit Knüppeln, so dass schließlich ihre beiden Arme gebrochen waren. Trotzdem wurde sie wegen Widerstands gegen die Staatsgewalt angeklagt und kam in Untersuchungshaft."

Document(s): Open document

28.02.2005 - Source: US Department of State

Cases of claimed torture ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2004") [#29519],  [ID 14074]

"In June, Mehmet Nurettin Basci and Mehmet Gazi Aydin claimed Adana police tortured them while they were being held in detention. Basci said police administered electric shocks to his testicles and squeezed them, and hung him by his arms. Aydin said police hung him by his arms. Prosecutors charged three police officers in the case, which continued at year's end. In July, a 14-year-old claimed that Izmir police officers repeatedly kicked him, struck him with a truncheon, threw him down a staircase, and then released him without charges. In October, an attorney for Sezai Karakus filed a complaint with prosecutors alleging that Istanbul police tortured Karakus during 4 days of detention between late September and early October. Karakus claimed police squeezed his testicles, struck his head against the wall, beat him repeatedly, and forced him to sign a confession. Authorities did not file charges in the case. Karakus committed suicide in prison in November. In November, several persons detained by police during a raid of the Yeniden Ozlem publishing house in Istanbul filed a complaint alleging that police tortured them. They claimed police repeatedly struck them with pistol butts and kicked them."

Document(s): Open document

28.02.2005 - Source: US Department of State

Torture cases at courts ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2004") [#29519],  [ID 14075]

"In January, an Istanbul prosecutor opened a case against police officers Ali Senoz and Yilmaz Savas for allegedly torturing two juveniles in November 2003. The police were charged with hanging the juveniles by their arms, squeezing their testicles, and spraying them with cold water and forcing them to stand in front of an air conditioner. The trial continued at year's end.

There were no developments in the alleged rape and torture of DEHAP official Gulbahar Gunduz in 2003.

In July, a Burdur court convicted three Jandarma officers for torturing 17 farmers in 2000; it sentenced 1 officer to 6 years in prison and the other 2 officers each to 2 years in prison. The court acquitted four co-defendants. The case was under appeal at year's end.

Proceedings continued in the 5-year-old Iskenderun trial of four police officers – Murat Cikar, Halil Ozkan, Aysun Yuksel, and Gurkan Ilhan – on charges of torturing and raping two teenage girls in detention in 1999. The trial had experienced repeated delays related to the handling of forensic evidence. In March, the court rejected a request by prosecuting attorneys to bring charges against the chairman of the Forensic Medicine Institute for not submitting evidence in a timely manner. The defendants remained on duty and were promoted during the trial; one of the alleged victims was released from prison in November, while the other remained in prison at year's end on charges of membership in an illegal organization.

In November, an Istanbul court closed the trial of four police officers charged with torture because the statute of limitations on the charges had expired. The defendants were accused of torturing trade unionist Suleyman Yeter and 13 other detainees in 1999."

Document(s): Open document

16.11.2004 - Source: Amnesty International

Developments in the trials of police officers charged in connection with the torture and subsequent death in custody of trade unionist showed, that torturers enjoy impunity despite recent legal reforms ("Insufficient and inadequate -- judicial remedies against torturers and killers") [#27038],  [ID 14076]

Document(s): Open document

04.08.2004 - Source: Amnesty International

3 men detained and reportedly tortured on suspicion of aiding the Kurdistan People's Congress (Kongra-Gel) ("Turkey - UA 240/04") [#24470],  [ID 14077]

"Three men have been detained and reportedly tortured in Siirt, southeast Turkey. Police have reportedly threatened their lawyer at gunpoint when he tried to visit them, and followed him in the street. Amnesty International believes the lawyer's life may be in danger.

Police detained Abdullah Gündogdu, Tahsin Atak and Ihsan Gülmek in the Pervari district of Siirt province on 30 July, reportedly on suspicion of aiding and abetting an armed organization, the Kurdistan People's Congress (Kongra-Gel), which was formerly known as the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). [...]"

Document(s): Open document
Open document

07.07.2004 - Source: World Organisation Against Torture

Cases of violence at the hands of state agents ("Violence Against Women - 10 reports - year 2003") [#24621],  [ID 14078]

"Yüksel Zengin, Gülbahar Topdemir, and Leyla Narin
Yüksel Zengin, Gülbahar Topdemir, and Leyla Narin reported to the Human Rights Association Diyarbakır Branch that they were tortured in detention. Ms Zengin reported that she was taken to an outdoor place where she was beaten by the police. Ms Topdemir reported that she was threatened with rape and beaten. She also complained that she was forced to listen music with high volume under detention. Ms Narin reported that her eyes were bowed, her throat was squeezed and she was electrocuted while she was detained.

Fahriye Kaya, Ibrahim Kaya ve Yasar Simsek
On 16 January 2002 in the Silvan District of the Diyarbakir province, Ms Fahriye Kaya, who was detained following a house raid resulting in the deaths of two persons, reported to the Diyarbakır Branch of the Human Rights Association that she was threatened with rape and beaten while in detention. She also said that her eyes were bowed during detention. She still remains in prison.

Pelin Çalıskan
A representative of a journal called Atilim, Ms Pelin Çalıskan was detained on 3 March 2002 in Bursa and she reported that she was tortured both physically and psychologically.

M.I.
M.I. who was detained on 7 March 2002 in Diyarbakır reported to the Diyarbakır Branch of the Human Rights Association that she was subject to violence during detention: She stated: After being taken in custody in the District I was brought to the Directorate for Security in Diyarbakır and put in a cell. After one hour, I was taken to the interrogation room blindfolded. In the interrogation room, they were hitting my head. They were threatening me by saying that “let’s undress her and show to the Commander, let’s rape her then she should not be able to get married.” I 369 was subject to this sort of treatment during four days. I was forced to sign a paper while blindfolded. I was to faint. On the fourth day, I was taken to the Emergency Service of the State Hospital in Diyarbakir. I was later taken to the prosecutor’s office and was released.”

E.A.
Ms E.A. who was detained on 10 April 2002 and released on 12 April 2002 reported the following to the Diyarbakır Branch of the Human Rights Association: “As soon as I was detained, I was taken to the Health Centre. A nurse searched on me. When I told her that I have faint problems she took the note. From the health centre I was taken to the Gendarmerie station in Ba?ıvar. Four gendarmerie personnel took my statement. During the interrogation they were continuously swearing, and threatening me with torture. I was at the same time being hit systematically. Later, I was taken to a cell. They have not provided any meal. I was referred to the prosecutor’s office on 12 April and I was released.

H.T.
Ms H.T., who was arrested on the grounds of being member of the PKK, reported to the Legal Aid Office of Sexual Abuse and Rape Project that she was subject to torture during four days of detention. She reported that she was undressed, blindfolded, her vagina was watered. She also added that she was forced to sit on feces in the toilet. She was also sexually abused with hands.

Gülden Sönmez and Sevim Aniktar,
Two women lawyers who are members of the Istanbul Bar Association, Gulden Sonmez and Sevim Anitkar, were subject to attacks and maltreatment by the prison manager and guardians in Metris Prison in ?stanbul. It was reported that these two lawyers went to the Prison to see their clients who were tortured in police detention before being sent to prison. After identifying that their clients were tortured, they asked the Prison management to refer them to the Forensic Medicine Department to get the report on the torture. Upon their request, the Prison manager and guardians attacked and hit them."

Document(s): Introduction and Contents
Cover Turkey

08.06.2004 - Source: Amnesty International

Southern Turkey: 4 men held in Adana Kürkçüler F-Type Prison face torture and solitary confinement ("Turkey - UA 195/04") [#23135],  [ID 14079]

Document(s): Open document

26.05.2004 - Source: Amnesty International

Abductions by plainclothes police officers ("Annual Report 2004 (covering 2003)") [#22903],  [ID 14080]

"Sixteen-year-old S.T. reported that on 26 November in the town of Siirt, southeast Turkey, he was abducted in the street by plainclothes police, had a sack put over his head and was pushed into a car. He said that his hands and feet were bound and he was beaten over the head and knocked unconscious. He stated that he was beaten severely and threatened with a gun held to his head for information about the whereabouts of his brother. He was later left in a cemetery outside the town.

Gülbahar Gündüz, active in the women's section of the Istanbul branch of DEHAP, reported that on 14 June she was abducted in the street in Istanbul by plainclothes police officers, blindfolded, taken in a car to an unknown building, raped and otherwise tortured. Although a report from the Forensic Institute documenting the evidence of torture was pending, an internal police investigation was dropped."

Document(s): Open document
Open document

25.02.2004 - Source: US Department of State

Gulbahar Gunduz of DEHAP (HADEP) Women's Wing tortured and raped by police officers ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2003") [#19741],  [ID 14081]

"In June, Gulbahar Gunduz, member of the DEHAP Women's Wing in Istanbul, said she was tortured and raped by four men identifying themselves as police officers. The case was under investigation at year's end. In April, Ruhsel Demirbas, Ugur Atilgan and Senol Budak held a press conference in Istanbul in which they claimed police beat them, deprived them of sleep, and repeatedly threatened to kill them after arresting them for hanging anti-war placards."

Document(s): Open document

07.11.2003 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Report focused on torture and inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment in selected Osce states ("Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment") [#17377],  [ID 14083]

"In April 2003, the Human Rights Association of Turkey (HRA) stated in its report covering the first three months of the year that it had observed no progress in the prevention of torture. In this period, 183 cases of torture during detention had been reported, and another 33 cases in prisons. The total number of cases of torture or ill-treatment by the police or gendarmerie reported to the HRA (including abuses during house searches, in the streets, etc.) reached 392.

The most commonly used torture techniques in Turkey are beatings, falaka (beating the soles of the feet), electric shocks, hosing with cold water, sexual abuse (including squeezing of the testicles and rape), suspending by the arms or wrists bound behind the victim's back (i.e., the “Palestinian hanger” which causes respiratory failure if the position is held for a long time), and death threats. While reports of torture are rarely received from prisons, it remains a common practice in police and gendarmerie stations.

• On 7 February 2003 the police detained two members of the youth section of the banned People’s Democracy Party (HADEP) in the Bahcelievler district. According to the testimony of one of the young men, a 17-year old, they were taken to a police station and interrogated about who had been spreading propaganda for the PRO-Kurdish KADEK organization. The police fooled the young man to testify against his friend by promising him that they both would be acquitted for lack of evidence if they testified against each other. Afterwards, he was released because he was under age. His friend was remanded and tortured while in detention, according to his lawyer. The police tried to force him to become an informer, and as he refused, he was stripped naked, subjected to a “Palestinian hanger”, hosed with pressurised water, and sexually assaulted.

• Zeynel Abidin Usar was arrested on 22 April 2003 in the Karsiyaka district of the city of Izmir and tortured while in police custody. After having asked for ventilation in the interrogation room because he suffers from asthma, two officers started beating him. After that his underwear was torn off, his shirt was wrapped around his head and his hands were cuffed behind his back. Pouring water over his body, police officers resumed beating him with truncheons and wooden sticks and they stepped on his face. Afterwards, he was brought to a hospital where a doctor examined him in the presence of the police officers. On 23 April, he was brought before the Karsiyaka prosecutor and was charged with carrying a knife. He reported to the prosecutor that he had been tortured, was brought to a forensic medical examination and subsequently released. When interviewing a police officer about the case, a journalist was told that Usar had been arrested on suspicion of theft. The officer added: “When a detainee creates difficulties for the police, his head or arms may be broken. These are normal things.”

Women held in custody -- especially if they are of Kurdish origin -- are frequently subjected to rape and other sexual abuse. As Turkish law does not define penetration with objects other than a penis as rape, such practices are carried out with impunity. Another common practice is to strip a victim naked during interrogation, or to subject a woman to sexual violence in the presence of her husband or other family members in order to force the family member to confess.

• One victim reported of being detained in the Istanbul police headquarters for four days of interrogation in March 2002 without access to legal counsel, during which time she was stripped naked, blindfolded and sprayed with cold water through a water hose forced into her vagina and forced to sit in excrement.

• Another woman reported of being detained and interrogated in the same month, accused of having links to an illegal organisation. During the detention, she was allegedly stripped naked, hosed with cold water and a policeman forced a truncheon into her anus, allegations that were later supported by medical records.

• On the morning of 14 June 2003, an executive for DEHAP Women’s Wing in Istanbul Province, Gülbahar Gündüz, was abducted by four persons who identified themselves as police officers. She was forced into a car and taken to an unidentified place where she was brought into a small room where the perpetrators intimidated her, hit her with a hard object, forced their penises into her mouth and extinguished cigarettes in her face. She was released later on the same day. A medical report from Haseki Hospital confirmed wounds on her back, both calves and the left side of her neck and stated that she should be examined by forensic medical specialists to verify the rape. 91 On 20 October, the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey reported that the Istanbul Security Directorate had terminated the investigations into the case on the grounds that “no police officer had been found to take the position of a defendant.”"

Document(s): Open document

28.08.2003 - Source: Amnesty International

Woman allegedly received death threats after she lodged complaints that she had twice been abducted and ill-treated by police officers ("Turkey - UA 256/03") [#15567],  [ID 14084]

Document(s): Open document
Open document

27.09.2002 - Source: Amnesty International

Amnesty International - Urgent Action: ("Turkey - UA 292/02") [#8764],  [ID 14085]

Document(s): Open document

01.09.2002 - Source: Amnesty International

Amnesty International: ("Systematic torture continues in early 2002") [#8513],  [ID 14086]

Document(s): Open document
Open document

28.08.2002 - Source: Amnesty International

Amnesty International - Urgent Action: ("Turkey - UA 141/02") [#8447],  [ID 14087]

Document(s): Open document

27.08.2002 - Source: Amnesty International

Amnesty International - Urgent Action: ("Turkey - UA 263/02") [#8442],  [ID 14088]

Document(s): Open document

02.08.2002 - Source: Amnesty International

Amnesty International - Urgent Action: ("Turkey - UA 244/02") [#8128],  [ID 14089]

Document(s): Open document

29.07.2002 - Source: Amnesty International

Amnesty International - Urgent Action: ("Turkey - UA 238/02") [#8050],  [ID 14090]

Document(s): Open document

13.06.2002 - Source: Amnesty International

Amnesty International - Urgent Action: ("Turkey - UA 178/02") [#7456],  [ID 14091]

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2002 - Source: Amnesty International

Amnesty International: ("Turkey - UA 71/02") [#5956],  [ID 14093]

Document(s): Open document

19.02.2002 - Source: Amnesty International

Amnesty International: ("Turkey: "Mini-Democracy" law does not guarantee freedom of expression and freedom from torture") [#5626],  [ID 14094]

Document(s): Open document

11.01.2002 - Source: Amnesty International

Amnesty International - Urgent Action: ("Turkey - UA 15/02") [#5251],  [ID 14095]

Document(s): Open document

03.01.2002 - Source: Amnesty International

Amnesty International: ("Turkey - UA 280/01") [#5115],  [ID 14096]

Document(s): Open document

14.12.2001 - Source: Amnesty International

Amnesty International: ("Combatting impunity: the role of effective documentation of torture") [#5059],  [ID 14097]

Document(s): Open document

20.11.2001 - Source: Amnesty International

Amnesty International: ("Turkey - UA 260/01") [#4793],  [ID 14099]

Document(s): Open document

07.11.2001 - Source: Amnesty International

Amnesty International: ("Turkey - UA 284/01") [#4581],  [ID 14100]

Document(s): Open document

02.11.2001 - Source: World Organisation Against Torture

OMCT: ("Turkey: death in detention of Mr. Yunus Güzel [Case TUR 021101]") [#4512],  [ID 14101]

Document(s): Open document

22.08.2001 - Source: Amnesty International

Amnesty International - Urgent Action: ("Turkey: UA - 209/01") [#3728],  [ID 14102]

Document(s): 01951tur.htm
Open document

20.08.2001 - Source: Amnesty International

Amnesty International - Urgent Action: ("Turkey: UA - 56/01") [#3685],  [ID 14103]

Document(s): 01933tur.htm
Open document

20.07.2001 - Source: Amnesty International

Amnesty International - Urgent Action: ("Turkey - UA 173/01") [#3106],  [ID 14104]

Document(s): 01633tur.html
Open document