PUBLIC AI Index: EUR 44/061/2001 4 September 2001 UA 218/01 Torture and ill-treatment/ Illegal Detention TURKEY Haci Elhunisuni (m), 26 years old Haci Elhunisuni was arrested in southeastern Turkey on 8 August on suspicion of membership of the armed opposition group Hizbullah. By law he should have been remanded to prison after 10 days, but he has now spent four weeks in police custody, where he has reportedly been tortured. He was detained in Diyarbakir by two plainclothes police officers, and taken to the Anti-Terror Branch of Police Headquarters in Diyarbakir. His mother was allowed to meet with him on 19 and 31 August. He told her that he had undergone every kind of torture, including beatings, having his testicles squeezed, hanging by the arms and electric shocks, to make him give information on members of Hizbullah. His mother says that "...there was bruising and swelling clearly visible on his face. His voice was shaky and difficult to understand. He seemed mentally unbalanced. He kept on saying to us: 'Get me out of here. I can't bear it'". BACKGROUND INFORMATION Amnesty International has received numerous accounts of alleged Hizbullah members being illegally detained at the Anti-Terror Branch of Police Headquarters in Diyarbakir. Fesih Güler was reportedly tortured while held illegally (see Further Information on UA 317/00, EUR 44/040/2001). Fahrettin Özdemir reportedly spent a total of 59 days in police custody, during which he was severely tortured (see EXTRA 30/00, EUR 44/23/00). Whereas torture is rarely reported from prisons, in police stations torture appears to be regularly used to extract confessions, to elicit information about illegal organizations, to intimidate detainees into becoming police informers or as unofficial punishment for presumed support of illegal organizations. Torture methods in Turkey documented by Amnesty International include severe beatings, being stripped naked and blindfolded, hosing with pressurized ice-cold water, suspending by the arms or wrists bound behind the victim's back, electric shocks, beating the soles of the feet, death threats and sexual assault. Turkey is a state party to the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 3 of which states that "No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment". RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English, German or your own language: - expressing concern that Haci Elhunisuni has allegedly been tortured or ill-treated, and that he is detained illegally at the Anti-Terror Branch of Police Headquarters in Diyarbakir; - urging the authorities to guarantee his safety and access to appropriate medical care, and to ensure that he is not further tortured or ill-treated; - calling for him to be transferred to prison immediately or else released; - calling for a full and impartial investigation into allegations that he has been illegally detained, tortured and ill-treated, with the results made public and those responsible brought to justice; - asking the authorities to take action to prevent the torture of detainees at Diyarbakir Police Headquarters, pointing out that the government is bound by the European Convention on Human Rights. APPEALS TO: Minister of the Interior Mr Rüstü Kazim Yücelen Ministry of Interior Içisleri Bakanligi 06644 Ankara, Turkey Telegrams: Interior Minister, Ankara, Turkey Fax: + 90 312 418 17 95 Salutation: Dear Minister Diyarbakir Police Headquarters Mr Atilla Çinar Diyarbakir Emniyet Müdürü Diyarbakir Emniyet Müdürlügü Diyarbakir, Turkey Telegrams: Emniyet Müdürü, Diyarbakir, Turkey Salutation: Dear Chief of Police Governor of the Provinces under Emergency Rule Olaganüstü Hal Valisi Diyarbakir, Turkey Telegrams: Olaganustu Hal Valisi, Diyarbakir, Turkey Faxes: + 90 412 224 3572 Salutation: Dear Governor COPIES TO: State Minister with responsibility for Human Rights E. Safter Gaydali, Office of the Prime Minister, Basbakanlik, 06573 Ankara, Turkey Fax: + 90 312 417 04 76 Salutation: Dear Minister and to diplomatic representatives of Turkey accredited to your country. PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 16 October 2001. Source: Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street, WC1X 8DJ, London, United Kingdom

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