BM Raportörü Nils Melzer, Türkiye’de işkence ve kötü muamelenin arttığını, gözaltında “Nesnelerle tecavüz edildiği”ni, yargının ise işlenmediğini aktardı.

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Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi’ne soru önergesi verilerek meclis gündemine taşınan Dışişleri Bakanlığı eski çalışanlarına işkence iddialarıyla ilgili Ankara Barosu hazırladığı raporu yayımladı.

Cezaevi Kurulu, İnsan Hakları Merkezi ve Avukat Hakları Merkezi üyelerinden oluşan bir heyet kötü muamele ve işkenceye uğradığı yönünde isimleri bildirilen kişilerle görüşerek ifadelerine Ankara Barosu Başkanlığınca hazırlanan raporda yer verildi.

Ankara Barosu raporu, TBMM İnsan Hakları Komisyonu Üyesi Milletvekili Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu’nun mecliste verdiği soru önergesi sonrası “Ankara Barosu Avukat Hakları Merkezi, Cezaevi Kurulu ve İnsan Hakları Merkezi Ankara İl Emniyet Müdürlüğü Mali Suçlar Soruşturma Bürosundaki İşkence İddialarına dair Rapordur” başlığı altında yayımladı.

Raporda görüşme sonuçlarına şu şekilde yer verildi:

“Tutanaklar ile de sabit olan ve yapılan görüşmeler neticesinde kötü muamele ve işkence iddialarına dair tespitler şunlardır:

Görüşülen 6 kişinin tamamı “mülakat” adı altında görüşmelere götürüldüklerini, burada itirafçı olmaya zorlandıklarını, tehdit ve hakaretlere maruz kaldıklarını ifade etmişlerdir. Görüşülen 6 kişinin tamamı birden fazla defa mülakata çıkarıldıklarını, mülakatta kendilerine psikolojik baskı uygulandığını, mülakatı gerçekleştiren kişileri görseler teşhis edebileceklerini ifade etmişlerdir.

Görüşülen 6 kişiden 5’i mülakatlar haricinde işkenceye ve kötü muameleye maruz kaldığını ifade etmiştir. Görüşme yapılan 1 kişi bizzat bir işkence ve kötü muameleye maruz kalmadığını, ancak aynı koğuşta kaldığı kişilerden ve Sulh Ceza Hakimliğine gözaltı süre uzatım işlemleri sırasında toplu olarak görüldüklerinde orada bulunan diğer kişilerden işkence ve kötü muamele iddialarını duyduğunu ifade etmiştir. Bu kişinin duyum üzerine anlatımları kötü muamele ve işkenceye maruz kalan kişilerin anlatımları ile uyumludur. Yine bu kişinin işkence ve kötü muameleye maruz kaldığını duyduğunu beyan ettiği isimler ile işkenceye ve kötü muameleye maruz kaldığını beyan eden kişilerin isimleri arasında farklılık gözlemlenmemiştir.

İşkence ve kötü muameleye maruz kaldığı ifade eden 5 kişinin ortak anlatımlarına göre; bu kişiler (bir kişi cumartesi gecesi, bir kişi cumartesiyi pazara bağlayan gece, üç kişi ise pazar gecesi) gözaltındaki tutuldukları koğuşlardan çıkarıldıklarını, Ankara İl Emniyet Müdürlüğü Mali Suçlar Soruşturma Bürosunun giriş katında bulunan bölümü getirildiklerini (bir kişi bu yere kelepçesiz getirildiğini, dört kişi ise ters kelepçeli olarak getirildiğini ifade etmiştir.) büronun girişindeki dar koridorda kapısında “girilmez” yazılı kapıdan içeri sokulduklarını, buradan karanlık bir odaya sokulduklarını, karanlık odaya bırakan kişilerin çıktıklarını, karanlık odada yüzlerini karanlık sebebiyle göremedikleri kişilerin, kendilerini önce duvara yasladıklarını, gözlerini bağladıklarını (ters kelepçe takılmayan kişi bu odada ilk olarak kendisine ters kelepçe takıldığını ifade etmiştir.) sonrasında diz çöktürdüklerini, bir süre süründürdüklerini, jop ile kafalarına vurulduğunu, konuşmazlarsa jopu makatlarına sokulmakla tehdit edildiklerini, karanlık odadaki kişilerin jopu vücutlarında gezdirdiklerini ifade etmişlerdir.

Bu yaşananların ardından; 3 kişi tamamen soyulduklarını, 1 kişi belden altı soyulduğunu, 1 kişi ise pantolonun yarıya kadar soyulduğunu ve devamında; tamamen ve bel altı soyulan toplam 4 kişi, tekrar ters kelepçelenerek cenin pozisyonuna getirildiklerini, makatlarında jop gezdirildiğini, bu sırada konuşmaları konusunda tehdit ve hakaretlere maruz kaldıklarını, kendilerine bir ile iki dakika arasında değişen süreler verildiğini, sonrasında “ikinci aşamaya geçiyoruz” denilerek makatlarına yağ veya kayganlaştırıcı olduğunu düşündükleri bir madde döküldüğünü, yine makatlarında jop gezdirilerek işkenceye maruz kaldıklarını ifade etmişlerdir. 1 kişi ise pantolonun çıkarılmaya çalıştığını, pantolonunun yarıya kadar zorla çıkarıldığını, zorlayarak geri çektiğini, vücudunda ve kıyafetleri üzerinde iken jop gezdirerek işkenceye maruz kaldığını ifade etmiştir.

İşkence ve kötü muameleye maruz kaldığını ifade eden 5 kişiye karanlık odada kendilerine işkence ve kötü muamele uygulayan kişilerin seslerini Mali Suçlar Soruşturma Bürosunda yüzünü gördükleri ve sesini duydukları kişilerden herhangi biri olup olmadığı sorulmuş, farklı kişiler olduklarını ifade etmişlerdir. Kendilerini tanıtıcı bir ifade kullanıp kullanmadıkları sorulduğunda 4 kişi bu yönde bir ifade kullanılmadığını, 1 kişi ise “biz dışarıdan geldik, profesyonel bir ekibiz” diye söylemde bulunduklarını ifade etmiştir.

İşkence ve kötü muameleye maruz kaldığını ifade eden 5 kişi günlük doktor muayenesi sırasında yanlarında bir kolluk görevlisinin bulunduğunu, can güvenliklerinden duydukları korku ve kaygı sebebiyle yaşadıkları doktora anlatamadıklarını ifade etmiştir.

İşkence ve kötü muameleye maruz kaldığını ifade eden 1 kişi ikinci aşama olarak ifade edilen işkence ve kötü muamele durumu öncesinde odada bulunan bir kişinin kendisine evli olup olmadığını sorduğunu, evli olduğunu söylemesi üzerine “bak bir daha karınla yatamazsın, geceleri kalkıp ağlarsın” dediğini ifade etmiştir.

İşkence ve kötü muameleye maruz kaldığını ifade eden 1 kişi süründürme esnasında dizlerinde morluklar oluştuğunu (morluklar giden komisyon tarafından bizzat görülmüş ve fotoğraflanmıştır.) işkencenin son bulmasını müteakip gündüz gerçekleşen ilk doktor muayenesinde bunu doktora ifade ettiğini, doktorun kendisine sözlü olarak morluk diye rapora yazdığını beyan etmesinin ardından, doktor muayenesi sırasında bulunan kadın polis memurunun panikleyerek cep telefonunu eline aldığını ve birilerine bir şeyler yazdığını, sonrasında kendisinin odadan çıkarıldığını ve raporun tanzim edilmiş halinin kendisine gösterilmediğini, devamında gözaltı süre uzatım işlemleri için Sulh Ceza Hakimliğine sevk edildiklerini, gözaltı uzatım kararının ardından götürüldükleri muayenede aynı doktorun darp cebir izi yoktur diye rapor yazdığını, diğer raporun akıbeti konusunda bilgisi olmadığını ifade etmiştir.

İşkence ve kötü muameleye maruz kaldığını ifade eden 1 kişi işkence ve kötü muameleye başlanmadan önce kendisine “Burada jop sokuyoruz, bunları duymuşsundur, hepsi doğru” denildiğini ve devamında yukarıda anlatılan işkence ve kötü muamele işlemlerine maruz kaldığını ifade etmiştir.

İşkence ve kötü muameleye maruz kaldığını ifade eden 1 kişi, yaşadıklarının ardından kaldığı koğuşa döndüğünde arkadaşlarına bir şey söyleyemediğini, sadece işkence var diyebildiğini, sonrasında uyuduğunu, uyandığında tuvalete gitmek istediğini, tuvalete giderken bayıldığını, 112 sağlık ekiplerinin geldiğini, tansiyonuna bakıldığını ve sonrasında gelen ekiplerin gittiğini, yaşananların ardından sabah olduğunda da baygınlık geçirdiğini, 48 saattir uyuyamadığını ifade etmiştir.

İşkence ve kötü muameleye maruz kaldığını ifade eden 1 kişi gözaltı süresinin uzatılması için Sulh Ceza Hakimliğine çıkarıldıklarında Sulh Ceza Hakimine kötü muameleye maruz kaldığını söylediğini, hakimin kendisine cevaben “bir tek sen mi niye başkasında yok” diye cevap verdiğini, bunun üzerine İşkence ve kötü muameleye maruz kaldığını ifade eden diğer 1 kişinin de “ben de işkenceye uğradım” dediğini, hakimin cevaben “ben doktor değilim, bu benim işim değil, doktora anlatın bunları” dediğini aynı sorguda bulunan 2 kişi ifade etmiştir.”

Ankara Barosu’nun hazırladığı raporun tamamına buradan ulaşılabilir.

Kaynak: EuroNews

İşkence Anayasa’da, ceza hukukunda, uluslararası sözleşmelerde suç olmanın da ötesinde bir insanlık suçudur. İşkenceyi “İşkence yapılanın” kimliğine bakarak meşrulaştırılmak, İşkence yapanı koruma girişimi ise işkence suçu kadar suçtur.

Erdoğan Rejimi yetkililerinin “Türkiye işkence ve kötü muameleye sıfır tolerans anlayışını benimsemiş bir ülkedir.’’ sözlerine rağmen sistematik işkence, kötü muamele ‘sıradan’ hale gelmiştir. 

OHAL ile Türkiye’de ağır işkence haberler ayyuka çıktı. İşkence iddiaları yargı tarafından da soruşturulmuyor. AKP iktidarı   8 Kasım 2016’da çıkardığı Kanun Hükmünde Kararname (KHK) ile 15 Temmuz’dan sonra her türlü işkenceye karışanlar ve hukuksuz olaylara başvuranlar koruma altına alındı. 

Bu KHK ile, “Resmi bir sıfatı taşıyıp taşımadıklarına veya resmi bir görevi yerine getirip getirmediklerine bakılmaksızın 15 Temmuz 2016 tarihinde gerçekleştirilen darbe teşebbüsü ve terör eylemleri ile bunların devamı niteliğindeki eylemlerin bastırılması kapsamında harakete eden kişiler hakkında da birinci fıkra uygulanır.” denildi.  

Adalet Bakanlığı İnsan Hakları Komisyonu Eski Başkanı Talip Aydın, HRD’nin (Human Rights Defenders) bu güne kadar isimleri tespit edilen 248 işkenceci hakkında yaptığı suç duyurusunu değerlendirdi.

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Nous célébrons aujourd’hui la « Journée internationale pour le soutien aux victimes de la torture ». En solidarité avec toutes les victimes de la torture, nous souhaitons attirer votre attention sur les points suivants :

La torture est un acte inexplicable et horrible qui ignore les valeurs humanitaires fondamentales et dévalorise l’individu jusqu’à le considérer comme un objet. La torture est une invention honteuse de l’humanité et une caractéristique indispensable des systèmes « légaux » qui permettent de recueillir des preuves émanant de suspects ou d’inculpés et est utilisée comme tactique de punition inhumaine et d’intimidation par des États dans une grande partie du monde. La torture, un crime au regard du droit international, est interdite définitivement et ne peut être justifiée en aucune circonstance. La pratique systématique ou généralisée de la torture constitue un crime contre l’humanité.

En gardant cela à l’esprit, nous, HRD, avons lancé une campagne juridique sous la compétence universelle en Allemagne, dans le contexte de cas de torture et de mauvais traitements en Turquie. Nous avons présenté aujourd’hui, notamment, 5 plaintes individuelles, qui ont été soumises à la torture et à de mauvais traitements en Turquie et qui vivent maintenant en Allemagne. Outre notre déclaration, une liste des auteurs présumés d’actes de torture ou de mauvais traitements est également soumise au Procureur fédéral en annexe.

À la suite des investigations du 17 et 25 décembre 2013 qui ont révélé la corruption régnant au sein du gouvernement ; le Premier ministre turc à l’époque, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a lancé un plan sinistre pour prendre le contrôle au niveau de toutes les couches de la société turque. La tentative de coup d’Etat monté du 15 juillet 2016 a donné au Régime d’Erdogan « la carte blanche » dont il avait besoin. Le régime, avec tous les appareils de l’Etat, y compris l’appareil judiciaire sous sa main et une machine de propagande bien fonctionnée alimentée par des fonds publics appropriés, a transformé le mouvement Gülen en un bouc émissaire et a déchaîné sa colère contre des innocents en Turquie et dans le monde.

La torture systématique, délibérée et généralisée en tant que politique gouvernementale, qui s’est manifestée dernièrement par la torture de diplomates au siège du commissariat de la police d’Ankara, ainsi que dans le cas de Deniz Yücel, est rendue possible notamment par les pratiques de détention provisoire prolongée, interdiction des réunions entre les avocats et clients et/ou violation de leur confidentialité, dissolution de tous les conseils de surveillance pénitentiaire et interdiction d’obtenir des rapports d’examen médical équitables. Le Haut-Commissariat des Nations Unies aux droits de l’homme (HCDH) et Human Rights Watch (HRW) ont bien documenté la pratique de la torture pour obtenir des aveux. Ces pratiques comprennent les violences physiques, le viol, les agressions sexuelles et leurs menaces, les électrochocs et le simulacre de noyade. Les actes de torture ont lieu en particulier au moment de l’arrestation et pendant la détention provisoire.

Non seulement la Turquie ne dispose pas d’organes judiciaires compétents et bienveillants à enquêter sur des allégations bien fondées de torture, mais elle souffre également de dissimulation des preuves de torture. Par exemple, dans un document confidentiel divulgué, la Direction Générale de la Sécurité (Police nationale) demande aux 81 départements de la police provinciale de dissimuler les traces de torture dans les centres de détention et de ne pas utiliser les centres de détention officiels [pour la torture] avant la visite d’enquête du Comité pour la prévention de la torture (CPT) du Conseil de l’Europe (CdE). Le HCDH et HRW soulignent tous deux le climat de peur envahissant qui règne et la difficulté de se documenter et d’enquêter sur des actes de torture et sur d’autres formes de mauvais traitements.

En outre, il y a 26 cas de disparitions forcées en Turquie. Tous suivent un schéma similaire, ce qui prouve qu’il s’agit d’un fait systématique. Les victimes passent des mois dans des lieux inconnus et dans des conditions non connues, sont soumises à la torture et à d’autres formes de mauvais traitements. Les disparitions forcées ne se limitent pas aux frontières de la Turquie, le gouvernement enlève également des personnes à l’étranger. Le ministre turc des Affaires étrangères s’est vanté de l’enlèvement de 100 personnes par l’Agence nationale de renseignement (MIT) dans 18 pays. Ces victimes ont également signalé avoir été soumises à de graves actes de torture.

La détention provisoire prolongée à l’isolement est une peine dégradante en soi, mais elle favorise surtout d’autres actes de torture et de mauvais traitements. À ce titre, il y a 54 cas documentés de suicides obscurs dans les pénitenciers. Ces morts suspectes sont en fait dues à la torture et au manque de soins médicaux adéquats.

Le régime d’Erdogan a également systématiquement ciblé des groupes vulnérables tels que les femmes enceintes ou les nouvelles mères, les personnes âgées, les personnes malades et/ou handicapées. Le HCDH a signalé 50 cas de femmes arrêtées juste avant ou après l’accouchement et estime à 600 le nombre de mères détenues avec leurs enfants en bas âge. Dans presque tous les cas, ces femmes ont été inculpées d’infractions présumées de leur mari, au mépris total du principe de personnalité des peines.

Les informations acquises constituent une base raisonnable pour croire que de multiples crimes commis après la tentative de coup d’État dans le contexte d’une attaque généralisée et systématique contre les disciples du Mouvement Gülen en Turquie, en application d’une politique de l’État ou de l’organisation, au sens des articles 6 (3) et 7 – 1, 5,6,7,8, 9,10 du Code pénal à l’encontre du droit international (Völkerstrafgesetzbuch –VStGB). Après une tentative de coup d’Etat monté en juillet 2016, les actes suivants ont été commis :

Génocide défini au paragraphe 6 (3) de VStGB comme suit : “Dans l’intention de détruire, en tout ou en partie, un groupe national, ethnique, racial ou religieux, en infligeant au groupe à des conditions d’existence devant entraîner sa destruction physique totale ou partielle. ”

Crimes contre l’humanité au titre de l’article 7 de la VStGB:

A. L’homicide volontaire constitue un crime contre l’humanité au sens de l’article 7 (1) du Statut;

B. infliger, dans l’intention de détruire une population, en tout ou en partie, des conditions d’existence de cette population ou des parties de celle-ci, à des conditions propres à provoquer sa destruction physique totale ou partielle, constitue un crime contre l’humanité au sens de l’article 7 (2) du Statut ;

C. La torture en tant que crime contre l’humanité, conformément à l’article 7 (5) du Statut ;

D. Viol et autres formes de violence sexuelle constitue un crime contre l’humanité au sens de l’article 7 (6) du Statut;

E. Disparitions forcées de personnes sous l’article 7 (7) du Statut

F. L’atteinte grave à l’intégrité physique ou mentale constitue un crime contre l’humanité au sens de l’article 7(8) du Statut;

G. Privation illégale de liberté physique ou violation des règles fondamentales du droit international énoncées à l’article 7 (9) du Statut;

H. Persécution “constituant un crime contre l’humanité” au sens de l’article 7 (10) du Statut;

Nous saisissons cette occasion pour appeler le Bureau du Procureur fédéral à ouvrir des enquêtes et à rester vigilants pour prévenir les pratiques de torture systématiques et généralisées et d’autres formes de mauvais traitements infligés par le régime d’Erdogan et traduire en justice les auteurs de tels actes. Nous nous engageons à rester vigilants dans nos efforts en ce sens.

Human Rights Defenders e.V.
info@humanrights-ev.com

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Today we mark the “International Day in Support of the Victims of Torture”. As we do stand in solidarity with all the victims of torture, we would like to bring to your attention the following:

Torture is an inexplicable and horrendous act that ignores basic humanitarian values, downgrades an individual to the level of an object. Torture has been a shameful invention of humankind and an indispensable feature of “legal” systems that reach to evidence from suspect/defendant and used as a tactic of inhuman punishment and intimidation by states in many parts of the world. Torture, a crime under international law, is prohibited in the absolute sense and cannot be justified under any circumstances. The systematic or widespread practice of torture constitutes a crime against humanity.

Bearing this in mind, we as HRD, did initiate a litigation campaign under Universal Jurisdiction in Germany, in context with torture and ill-treatment cases in Turkey. Today we have submitted, inter alia, 5 individual complaints, who were subject to torture and ill-treatment in Turkey, and now living in Germany. In addition to our submission a list of alleged perpetrators of torture or ill-treatment is also submitted to the Federal Prosecutor as an Annex.

Following the graft probes of December 17 and 25, 2013 that exposed the prevalent corruption within the government, the then Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has initiated a gruesome scheme to seize control of all aspects of the Turkish society. The bogus coup attempt of July 15, 2016 granted the Erdogan Regime the carte blanche it needed. The Regime, with all the state apparatuses including the judiciary under its tight grip and a well-oiled propaganda machine fed by appropriated public funds, turned the Gülen movement into a scapegoat and unleashed its wrath onto innocent people in Turkey and around the world.

Systematic, deliberate and wide-spread torture as a government policy, which manifested itself lastly with the torturing of diplomats in Ankara Police Headquarters,  as well as in the case of Deniz Yücel, is made possible by, inter alia, practices of prolonged detention, prohibition of lawyer-client meetings and/or violation of their confidentiality, dissolution of all prison monitoring boards and prevention of obtaining fair medical examination reports. The practice of torture to extract confessions is well documented by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and Human Rights Watch (HRW). These practices include battery, rape, sexual assault and threats thereof, electroshocks and waterboarding. The acts of torture take place particularly at the time of arrest and during the preliminary detention.

Under the Emergency Regime, three Decree Laws Nos.667-668-696 offered impunities for the public servants and civilian for all type crimes committed in the pretext of protecting the Government. These decrees, then were approve by the Parliament and have become permanent laws (Law Nos. 6749, 6755, 7079). Under these laws, Istanbul and Trabzon Prosecutorial Offices rendered non-prosecution decision with regard to complaints of victims of torture.

Not only Turkey lacks competent and willing judicial bodies to investigate well-grounded allegations of torture, it also suffers from obscuring of evidences of torture. For instance, in a leaked confidential document, the Directorate General of Security (National Police) instructs all 81 provincial police departments to cover up traces of torture in detention centers and not to use official detention centers [for torture] ahead of a fact-finding visit by the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) of the Council of Europe (CoE). The OHCHR and HRW both underline pervasive climate of fear and difficulty to document and investigate acts of torture and other forms of ill-treatment. Further to that, the Turkish Governments prevents the COE’s CPT to publish its 2016-2017-2018 reports.

Furthermore, there 26 cases of enforced disappearances in Turkey. All of them follow a similar pattern, which proves the fact that it is a systematic effort. The victims spend months with their conditions or whereabouts unknown, are subjected to torture and other forms of ill-treatment. Enforced disappearances are not confined within the borders of Turkey, the government abducts people abroad as well. Turkish Foreign Minister brazenly boasted about kidnapping of 100 individuals by the National Intelligence Agency (MIT) from 18 countries. These victims have also reported being subjected to severe torture.

Prolonged detention in solitary confinement is a degrading punishment in itself, but more importantly, it is conducive to other acts of torture and ill-treatment. As such, there are 54 documented, murky cases of suicide in penitentiaries. These suspicious deaths are in fact due to torture and lack of adequate medical care.

The Erdogan Regime has also systematically targeted vulnerable groups such as expectant or new mothers, elderly, sick and disabled persons. The OHCHR reported 50 cases of women being arrested just before or after giving birth and estimates that there are 600 mothers held in detention with their young children. In almost all cases, these women were charged with alleged offences of their husbands, in a total disregard for the principle of individuality of criminal responsibility.

The available information provides a reasonable basis to believe that multiple crimes committed after coup attempt in the context of a widespread and systematic attack against Gulen Movement Followers (GMF) in Turkey pursuant to or in furtherance of a State or organizational policy, within the meaning of section 6-(3)  and  section 7 – 1, 5,6,7,8, 9,10 of Code of Crimes against International Law (Völkerstrafgesetzbuch –VStGB). After July 2016 bogus coup attempt the following conducts have been committed:

Genocide defined in Section 6(3) of VStGB as; “with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part”

Crimes against humanity under Section 7 VStGB:

1. Willful killing constituting a crime against humanity under article 7(1) of the Statute;
2. inflicting, with the intent of destroying a population in whole or in part, conditions of life on that population or on parts thereof, being conditions calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, constituting a crime against humanity under article 7(2) of the Statute;
3. Torture as a crime against humanity, pursuant to article 7(5) of the Statute;
4. Rape and other forms of sexual violence constituting a crime against humanity under article     7(6) of the Statute;
5. Enforced disappearance of persons under article 7(7) of the Statute
6. Causing serious physical or mental harm constituting a crime against humanity under article 7(8) of the Statute;
7. Unlawful deprivation of physical liberty or in violation of fundamental rules of international law under article 7(9) of the Statute;
8. Persecution” constituting a crime against humanity under article 7(10) of the Statute;

We do take the opportunity to call on the Office of the Federal Prosecutor to initiate investigations and to stay vigilant in prevention of practices of systematic and widespread torture and other forms of ill-treatment by the Erdogan Regime and bringing perpetrators of such acts to justice. We pledge ourselves to remain active in our endeavors to this end.

For further information:
Human Rights Defenders e.V.
info@humanrights-ev.com

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Bugün 26 Haziran, “İşkence Mağdurlarıyla Uluslararası Dayanışma Günü” olarak anılmaktadır. HRD (Human Rights Defenders) olarak, bugünün önemine binaen, başta Türkiye’de olmak üzere tüm dünyada işkenceye maruz kalmış kişilerle dayanışma içerisinde bulunma düşüncesiyle şu hususlara dikkatinizi çekmek istiyoruz:

İşkence, temel insani değerleri göz ardı eden, bireyi bir nesne seviyesine indirgeyen, anlaşılmaz ve korkunç bir eylemdir. İşkence insanlık için utanç verici uygulama olup, delil ve itiraflara ulaşmak amacıyla çoğu zaman “resmi görevliler” tarafından uygulanan evrensel bir suçtur. Uluslararası hukuken mutlak bir şekilde yasak olan işkence sucunun zaman aşımı yoktur.

Kısa bir süre önce 5 farklı İnsan Hakları Derneği olarak BM İŞKENCEYİ ÖNLEME KOMİTESİ (CAT)’ye  bir müracaatımız olmuştu.

Bugun burada HRD, Uluslararası Muhabirler Derneği ve Sürgündeki Avukatlar Platfomuyla birlikte, Türkiye’deki işkence ve kötü muamele vakaları bağlamında, Almanya’daki Evrensel Yargılama ilkesi kapsamında, bir hukuki süreci başlatmış bulunmaktayız. Bugün, diğer pek çok belgenin ve bilginin yanında, Türkiye’de işkence ve kötü muameleye maruz kalan, ancak şimdi Almanya’da yaşayan 5 kişinin şahsi dosyasını da şikâyet dilekçemizde sunduk. Ayrıca, işkence ya da kötü muamelenin yapıldığı iddia eden faillerin ve yerlerin listesini de dilekçemiz ekinde tevdi ettik.

Bu çerçevede, 248 Şüphelinin adı tespit edilmiştir. Adalet, İçişleri Bakanlıkları, MİT ve diğer ilgili kurum ve kuruluşları yetkilileri ile birlikte, özellikle; AFYON – ANKARA – ANTALYA – AMASYA – BALIKESIR – BARTIN – BAYBURT – DENIZLI-DIYARBAKIR – ELAZIG – HAKKARI – İSTANBUL – İZMİR-KARS – KAHRAMANMARAŞ – KIRIKKALE – KONYA -NEVŞEHİR – OSMANİYE – RİZE – SİVAS – ŞANLIURFA -TOKAT – VAN – YALOVA VE ZONGULDAK İllerindeki, İŞKENCE ÜSLERİNDE, görev yapan veya buradaki işkencelere göz yuman sorumlu Vali, Emniyet Müdürü, Başsavcı, Adli Tıp Uzmanı, Polis Memuru kişilerin adlarını iletmiş bulunmaktayız.

Türkiye’deki Erdoğan rejimi, özellikle 17/25 Aralık 2013 yolsuzluk operasyonları sonrasında, kendisine muhalif olan toplumun tüm kesimlerini hedef alırken, hiç kuşkusuz en ağır darbeyi Hizmet Hareketi ve gönüllülerine indirmeyi amaçlamıştır.  “Allah’ın bir lütfü” olarak adlandırdığı 15 Temmuz sahte darbe girişimi, OHAL ve sonrasındaki uygulamaları ile Erdoğan, amaçladığı dikta rejimini hergün daha emin adımlarla uygulamaya koymustur. Kuvvetler ayrılığı ilkesini, yargının tarafsızlığı ve bağımsızlığını çiğneyen Erdoğan rejimi Türkiye’deki tüm toplumsal kesimleri kontrol altında tutmak istemektedir. Öte yandan, devletin ve özel kuruluşların tüm imkanlarıyla propaganda yaparak Hizmet Hareketini günah keçisine çevirerek ve şahsi hırsından, tüm kinini Türkiye ve dünyadaki masum insanların üzerine salmıştır.

En son Dışişleri eski Personeli, Gazeteci Deniz Yücel ve diğer yüzlerce işkence haberi olmak üzere gösterdi ki, Türkiye’de, ne yazık ki, sistematik ve yaygın bir şekilde işkence suçu işlenmektedir. Uzun ve haksız tutukluluk süreleri, Yasal danışma alma hakkının engellenmesi ve bu alanda mahremiyetin hiçe sayılması, işkenceyi önleme mekanizmalarının işlevsiz hale getirilmesi ve doktor raporlarının alınamaması, Türkiye’deki işkencenin kanıtı olmuştur.

İfade ve itiraf almak için yapılan işkenceler, başta BM İnsan Hakları Yüksek Komiserliği Raporları olmak üzere Human Rights Watch, gibi uluslararası kuruluşlarının da raporlarına konu olmuştur. Türkiye’de unutulduğunu sandığımız suda boğma, elektrik şoku, cinsel istismar ve tecavüz gibi işkence yöntemleri tekrar hortlamıştır.

OHAL Dönemi KHK’lar (667-668-696 Sayılı KHK’lar), kamu görevlilerinin ve sivillerinin Devleti korumak bahanesiyle işledikleri her türlü suçu cezasız bırakmaktadır. Bu KHK’lar sonra Parlamento tarafından onaylandı ve kalıcı yasalar haline geldi (6749, 6755, 7079 sayılı kanun). Bu yasalar uyarınca, İstanbul ve Trabzon Cumhuriyet Başsavcılığı, işkence mağdurlarının şikayetleriyle ilgili olarak kovuşturma yapılmamasına karar vermiştir.

Türkiye, yalnızca işkence iddialarını soruşturmak için yetkili yargı organlarından yoksun değil, aynı zamanda işkencenin kanıtlarını gizlemek içinde yoğun mesai içindedir. Örneğin, basına da sızan gizli bir belgede, Emniyet Genel Müdürlüğü 81 İl Emniyet Müdürlüklerine işkence izlerini örtme talimatı göndermiştir. Bu talimata gerekçe ise Avrupa Konseyi İşkenceyi Önleme Komitesi tarafından gerçekleştirecek bir ziyaret olmuştur.

BM İnsan Hakları Yüksek Komiserliği Raporları ve Human Rights Watch, işkence eylemlerini ve diğer kötü muamele biçimlerini belgelemek ve araştırmak icin yaptığı çalışmalarda, halk nezdindeki yaygın korku ve zorlayıcı bir iklimi de vurgulamaktadır. Ayrıca, Türk Hükümeti Avrupa Konseyi İşkenceyi Önleme Komitesinin 2016-2017-2018 raporlarının da yayınlamasını önlemektedir.

2016 yılından bu yana Türkiye’de 26 vatandaşı zorla kaçırılma vakası bulunmaktadır. Geçmiş donemin beyaz Toroslarının yerini maalesef bugün siyah Transporter’lar almıştır. Mağdurların aylarca hangi koşullarda ve nerede oldukları bilinmemektedir. İşkence ve diğer kötü muamelelere maruz kaldıkları muhakkaktır.

Erdoğan Rejimi tarafından organize edilen kaçırılma ve kaybetme eylemleri sadece Türkiye sınırları içinde değil, yurtdışında yaşayan vatandaşları da hedef almaktadır. Türk Dışişleri Bakanı, 18 ülkeden MİT tarafından 100 kişinin kaçırılması konusunda övünmektedir. Bu insanların ağır işkencelere maruz kaldığı bilinmektedir. Şikayet dosyamızda AFGANISTAN – AZERBAYCAN – ARNAVUTLUK-BULGARISTAN – GABON – YUNANISTAN – ENDONEZYA-KAZAKISTAN – KOSOVA – MALEZYA – MYANMAR – TAYLAND-PAKISTAN VE KATAR’da görev yapan dönemin diplomatik misyon şeflerinin isimleri de bu kaçırılmalardaki görevleri ve müdahaleleri nedeniyle bulunmaktadır.

Tek kişilik hücre uygulaması, uzun süre gözaltında tutulma başlı başına aşağılayıcı bir cezadır, ancak daha da önemlisi, bu sürede mağdurlar işkence ve kötü muameleye maruz kalmaktadır. Cezaevlerinde 54 belgelenmiş, şüpheli ölüm vakası bulunmaktadır. Bu şüpheli ölümler aslında işkence ve tıbbi bakım yetersizliğinden kaynaklanmaktadır.

Erdoğan Rejimi ayrıca hamile olan veya yeni doğum yapmış kadınları, yaşlı, hasta ve engelli insanlar gibi hassas grupları da sistematik olarak hedeflemektedir. B.M Insan Haklari Yüksek Komiserliği doğumdan hemen önce veya sonra 50 kadının tutuklandığını kayıt altına aldıklarını ve küçük çocuklarıyla gözaltında tutulan 600’den fazla kadının olduğunu tahmin etmektedir. Neredeyse tüm vakalarda, suçun şahsiliği ilkesi ihlal edilerek, kocaları hakkında istinat edilen suçlarla ve eşlerine yardım ve yataklık etmek suçuyla tutsak edilmektedirler.

Tüm bu bilgiler ışığında, sözde darbe girişimi sonrasında gerçekleştirilen ve Hizmet Hareketini ve gönüllülerini hedef alan sistematik ve yaygın işkence, bu Hareketi ve gönüllülerini yok etme politikası karşısında, uluslararası hukuk normları ile FEDERAL ALMANYA CUMHURİYETİ’nin ilgili yasaları çerçevesinde Soykırım ve İnsanlığa Karşı Suç Niteliği taşıyan bu suçlara ilişkin hukuki süreci başlatmış bulunmaktayız.

Bugün, Federal Savcılığa yaptığımız başvuruda, Erdoğan Rejimine hizmet eden ve bu suçları işleyen kişilere karşı soruşturma açılmasını talep etmekteyiz. Türkiye’deki sistematik, yaygın işkence uygulamalarının ve diğer kötü muamelenin durdurulmasının temini, ayrıca faillerinin adalete hesap vermesi için çağrıda bulunmaktayız.

HRD, (Human Rights Defenders) olarak bu amaçla çalışmalarımızı sürdürmeyi, mazlum ve magdurlar adina bir borç bilmekte ve bu mesuliyet duygusu ile hareket etmekteyiz.

Kamuoyuna saygıyla duyurulur.

Bilgi için:
Human Rights Defenders e.V.
info@humanrights-ev.com

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The Human Rights Center of the Gaziantep Bar Association has confirmed torture allegations reported last week from Sanliurfa’s Halfeti district, announcing the ill-treatment by police was worse than thought, online news portal Gazete Duvar reported on Monday.

According to the report released by the association which investigated the incident at the scene and talked to alleged torture victims, the detainees including women were heavily beaten, insulted, given an electric shock and forced to sign false testimonies.

The detentions in Bozova and Halfeti districts in the south-eastern province of Sanliurfa took place after a police officer was killed in a counter-terrorism operation targeting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in Halfeti on May 18.

In the wake of the operation police from the Counter Terrorism Unit blamed some nearby residents for supporting the PKK militants and detained at least 54 people.

The PKK which is deemed as a terrorist organization by Ankara has waged a decades-long insurgency in the predominantly Kurdish southeastern part of Turkey for self-rule.

Shortly after, maltreatment reports started to come from the Sanliurfa Bar Association. In solidarity with Sanliurfa’s bar, the Gaziantep’s bar charged an eight-lawyer group to investigate the torture allegations.

According to the association’s report, the detainees were tortured during the detentions as well as interrogations and were handcuffed from behind, and laid down on the ground and kept waiting for hours in that position

The report also found there were indications of serious torture on the detainees’ bodies such as physical injury marks, bruises, and cuts on their faces, legs and bodies and some detainees were given electric shocks on their genitals

• Some of the damning finds in the report are that detainees were tortured by squeezing their testicles;
• a woman detainee could not recount the torture she was subjected to
• an old man of around 60 years was having difficulty walking and moving due to heavy torture
• the detainees’ complaints of torture were not taken into consideration by prosecutors
• police officers threatened the detainees they would harm their family members unless they signed false testimonies
• were prohibited from seeing a doctor.
• The report stated that unlawful restrictions were imposed on lawyers who wanted to provide the detainees with legal advice, despite the end of the 24- hour period of restricted access to lawyers, many of them was not allowed to meet with their clients. Those who could visit the detainees were allowed for only five minutes under police surveillance; and
• lawyers’ requests for transferring the detainees from the police station where they were tortured to another place were rejected.

The association completed the report by calling on the authorities to take a series of actions regarding the torture incident.

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Source: https://ipa.news/2019/05/28/lawyers-confirm-severe-torture-in-halfeti-district/

Former Turkish diplomats arrested over terrorism charges claim they have been tortured as well as sexually abused with police batons, Ankara Bar Association reported.

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Former Turkish diplomats arrested over terrorism charges claim they have been tortured as well as sexually abused with police batons, Ankara Bar Association reported.

According to the report, the ex-diplomats were endured torture such as sexual harassment with batons, threats of rape, reverse handcuffing, harsh beatings, being knocked unconscious, and being forced to completely undress.

Arrest warrants were issued last week for 249 former employees for Foreign Ministry. It has been claimed that some of the detainees were exposed to systematic torture in Ankara Police Headquarters so that “they would sign the petition for making use of effective remorse law and become informants.” Ankara Police, on the other hand, denied the allegations in a press statement and stated that 130 attorneys saw the suspects 545 times.

The exact number of detainees is not known under the file with a confidentiality order on it. It is believed that the number exceeds 100 including those who have been arrested or surrendered since May 20.

According to the information the BBC Turkish has garnered, the detention order of detainees, who have been detained for a week, has been extended until Friday through a court order. Statements started to be taken from the detainees today.

All of the female detainees except one have been released. The claims about torture in detention surfaced on Saturday when the women were released.

HDP lawmaker Gergerlioğlu submitted a written question

HDP Kocaeli lawmaker Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu announced the claims of torture in Ankara Police Headquarters the other day from his Twitter account. Then Mr. Gergerlioğlu submitted a written question regarding the issue to be answered by Vice President Fuat Oktay.

Speaking to the BBC Turkish, Gergerlioğlu said most of the detainees had been dismissed through emergency decrees and there were claims that 20 suspects were exposed to brutal torture.

In his press statement, he urged the Interior Ministry and Ministry of Justice to take action about the claims.

“I’m told that they said they’d rape him with a truncheon unless he talked”

Moreover, the attorneys contacted by the BBC Turkish requested that “the names of their clients, who will be detained until Friday,” should not be mentioned in the news story “for their safety.”

An attorney told about the torture inflicted on his client as follows:

“They bring him in for questioning on Saturday night, take him downstairs, and then blindfold him. They strip him naked and handcuff him in the back. They keep him on his knees with his head on the ground. They oil his anus, brush a truncheon around it, and tell him they’ll insert it unless he talks. “

“They tell him that the procedure will continue unless he talks until Friday when detention will be over and they demand they want a statement for effective remorse. When my client gets worse there, they stop torturing. When he gets up at night to go to the toilet, he collapses. He passes out once again in the morning during breakfast. Whereupon they take him to the hospital.”

The attorney says that his client was examined at the hospital but was too afraid to tell the doctor about the torture because he was accompanied by officers.

“When my client said he’d been tortured, I didn’t think about anything like it and asked “Roll up your t-shirt so I’ll see it.” I thought it was beating and I could take a photograph. But when he told these, I got speechless. There isn’t any physical sign or mark because the torture had been performed by a professional team.”

According to the statements from 3 different attorneys who spoke to the BBC Turkish, at least 6 persons were exposed to “the activity or threat of rape with truncheon” and at least 20 persons to torture in a room other than the prison cell.

“They are demanded to be informants through torture.”

Another attorney says that the torture started with the release of female detainees and some of the suspects who were taken to court for an extension of detention “limped” because of the torture inflicted on them.

“I’m told that some were raped with a truncheon, and others were threatened again as the top of a truncheon was oiled and moved around the anal area. After these instances of torture, one said he’d take advantage of effective remorse and sign whatever they wanted. To those he did not take advantage of effective remorse, they said, ‘You have time until Friday. If you don’t talk, we’ll do all kinds of torture on you.’”

FULL REPORT

ANKARA BAR ASSOCIATION

CENTER FOR ATTORNEY RIGHTS, PENAL INSTITUTION BOARD AND CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

REPORT REGARDING CLAIMS OF TORTURE IN ANKARA PROVINCIAL POLICE HEADQUARTERS INVESTIGATION DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL CRIMES

Subject: The report regarding the meetings and inspections performed by Ankara Bar Association Center for Attorney Rights, Penal Institutions Board and Center for Human Rights into claims about torture in the Investigation Department of Financial Crimes which appeared on the press and exposed to public on 26 May 2019.

REPORT

Initially, a message was shared on Kocaeli Lawmaker Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu’s account on Twitter, the micro-blogging site, on 26 May 2019 that “there are claims of torture in Ankara Police Headquarters.” In later hours and days, claims of “beating to unconsciousness, harassment and forcing to watch those who were being tortured, the fact that acts of torture that were incompatible with human dignity were inflicted in at least four cases, the acts were performed by persons coming to Ankara Police Headquarters from outside who identified themselves as MIT; a diplomat who was beaten to unconscious was hospitalized; doctors did not write any report regarding the incident; the torture continued and it was openly stated that it would get worse; attempts were made to get statements through torture ” appeared on the media, thus revealed to the public about some 100 people identified to be Foreign Ministry Staff dismissed through emergency decrees who were kept in custody in Investigation Department of Financial Crimes.”

The attorneys who provided legal assistance for the persons in custody submitted complaints to the center and boards of our bar association regarding the claims of ill-treatment and torture.

Besides complaints about torture, complaints have been submitted regarding the fact that the colleagues who went to see their clients under their duty of defense were forced to sign an affidavit in accordance with orders from the prosecutor’s office, but in violation of the provisions of the CMK, that said, “I declare and undertake that I will take the power of attorney regarding my representing the person I will see for the investigation file … and present it to Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office so that it is included in the investigation file (Attachment-1 Order letter from the prosecutor’s office and the record demanded to be signed).

Our Bar Association’s Center for Attorney Rights, Penal Institutions Board and Center for Human Rights made appointments for the on-site inspection of the claims of ill-treatment and torture and well as the claims that the attorneys were demanded to hand in an affidavit for presenting the power of attorney, which is a violation of CMK provisions, and the appointed colleagues went over to the Ankara Provincial Police Headquarters Investigation Department of Financial Crimes on 27 May 2019 to hold interviews and carry out inspections.

The Trip to Investigation Department of Financial Crimes and the Happenings

• Coercion into taking an affidavit for presenting the power of attorney

The officials from Center for Attorney Rights of our bar association went over to the department first. As a result of the meetings regarding the order from the prosecutor’s office about taking an affidavit from attorneys for presenting the power of attorney, which violates the provisions of the CMK, the practice of taking an affidavit was discontinued by the chiefs in the Investigation Department of Financial Crimes.

• Interviews with the persons whose names were reported for suffering ill-treatment and torture

After the discontinuation of the practice of taking an affidavit as a result of the meetings held by the Center of Attorney Rights of our bar association, a second panel comprising members of Penal Institutions Board, Center for Human Rights, and Center for Attorney Rights who visit the Investigation Department of Financial Crimes held a meeting in a closed room with the six persons whose names had been reported regarding the claims of ill-treatment and torture, and statements were officially recorded and signed in the company of the persons who suffered ill-treatment and torture. (The names of the persons interviewed are kept confidential in this report.)

Established by the written statements and as a result of the interviews, the findings regarding the claims of ill-treatment and torture are as follows:

• All the 6 persons who were interviewed stated that they had been taken to meetings under the pretext of “interviews,” where they were forced to become informants and suffered threats and insults. All the 6 persons who were interviewed stated that they were taken out for an interview more than once, they were put under psychological stress during the interview, and they could identify the persons who carried out the interviews if they saw them.
• 5 of the 6 persons who were interviewed stated that they suffered ill-treatment and torture outside the interviews. 1 person with whom an interview was held stated that he did not personally suffer ill-treatment and torture but heard about the claims of ill-treatment and torture from the persons with whom he shared a cell and from other persons when they were taken together to the Criminal Judgeship of Peace during the time extension procedures. No discrepancy was found between the names of persons whom this person heard to have suffered ill-treatment and torture and the names of the persons who declared that they suffered ill-treatment and torture
• According to the common statements of the 5 persons who stated that they had suffered ill-treatment and torture; these persons were taken out of their cells where they were held in custody (one on Saturday night, another the night between Saturday and Sunday, and the other three Sunday night), they were taken to the section on the ground floor of Ankara Provincial Police Headquarters Investigation Department of Financial Crimes (one person said he was taken without handcuffs, while four said they were handcuffed in the back), they were put in through a door with the sign “No Entrance” on it on the narrow hallway at the entrance of the department, the persons who put them in the dark room left, the persons whose faces they could not identify because of the dark first forced them against the wall, blindfolded them (The uncuffed person stated that he was the first to be handcuffed in this room), then forced them to kneel, made them crawl for a while, hit them on the head with truncheons, threatened that they would be raped unless they talked, and the persons in the dark room brushed truncheons on their bodies.

After these events, 3 said they were stripped completely naked, one said he was stripped waist down, one said his trousers were stripped half down; and then 4 persons, the completely and waist-down naked ones, were handcuffed in the back, put in fetus position, had truncheons brush their anal areas; they were subjected to threats and insults all the while; they were given one to two minutes after which they were told “We now move into the next stage” and a substance which they thought to be oil or lubricant was poured on their anal areas and truncheons were brushed around their anal areas. In addition, 1 person stated that they tried to take his trousers off, which they managed to lower halfway, he forced them back up, and he was tortured by having the truncheon brushed over his body and clothes.

• The 5 persons who said they had been subjected to ill-treatment and torture were asked whether the persons who performed the ill-treatment and torture were one of the persons whose face they saw and voice they heard in the Investigation Department of Financial Crimes and they replied that these were different persons. When asked if they used any expression that might reveal their identity, four of the persons said no such expression was used but one stated that he heard them say, “We came from outside; we’re a professional team.”
• The 5 persons who said they had been subjected to ill-treatment and torture stated that they were accompanied by a police officer during the daily examination of the doctor and they could not tell the doctor about what they experienced because they feared for and were worried about their safety of life.
• 1 person who said he was subjected to ill-treatment and torture stated that before the ill-treatment and torture defined as the second stage one person asked him whether he was married and when he said he was he was told “Look, you won’t be able to sleep with your wife and you’ll wake up at night and cry.”
• 1 person who said he was subjected to ill-treatment and torture stated that he got bruises on his knees due to the crawling (the bruises were seen and photographed by the visiting commission) and declared to the doctor on his first examination the day after the torture, but when the doctor verbally declared that he had written in the report as bruises the female officer who was present during the examination panicked, got hold of her mobile phone, and wrote something to someone, and he was then taken out of the room and he was not shown the completed version of the report and they were later transferred to the Criminal Judgeship of Peace for procedures of extending detention time, and the same doctor wrote in the report that there was no mark of battery or coercion in the examination they were taken after the extension decision, and he had no idea about the fate of the other report.
• 1 person who said he was subjected to ill-treatment and torture stated that he was told before they started ill-treatment and torture that “We rape with truncheons here; you must’ve heard about it. It’s all true,” and then he was subjected to the ill-treatment and torture explained above.
• 1 person who said he was subjected to ill-treatment and torture stated that he did not say anything to his friends when he returned to the cell after the experience; all he could say was that there was torture, and then he went to sleep; when he wanted to go to the toilet when he woke up he passed out; 112 medical team came in, checked his blood pressure and then left; he also passed out in the morning after the events; and he had not slept for 48 hours.
• 1 person who said he was subjected to ill-treatment and torture stated that when they were taken before the Criminal Judgeship of Peace he said to the Criminal Judge of Peace that he had been subjected to ill-treatment; the judge answered, “Is it just you? Why doesn’t anyone else have it;” whereupon another person who stated that he had been subjected to ill-treatment and torture said, “I’ve subjected to torture too.” 2 persons in the same trial stated that the judge said, “I’m not a doctor; this isn’t my job; Go tell it to the doctor.”

EVALUATIONS

When our colleagues who were appointed by the central office and boards of our bar association informed the officials at the Investigation Department of Financial Crimes about the names of the persons with whom they wanted to interview, they were told that statements were taken from 3 of these persons since they wanted to take advantage of the provisions of effective remorse and they were then released. The files of these persons had been reviewed and no finding about ill-treatment or torture had been reported in their files. Similarly, the reports of the persons with whom interviews were conducted and about whom the findings above are confirmed had been reviewed and it was reported that there was no sign of battery or coercion. The persons with whom the interviews that revealed the findings were made named the 3 persons who took advantage of the effective remorse and were released and stated that they heard from others who went to the interviews and from still others whom they met at the Criminal Judgeship of Peace when they were transferred to the courthouse for the time extension order for detention that they were subjected to ill-treatment and torture like they were. As stated in the ECHR as well as other international conventions, the presence of the doctor’s report per se is not a sign that no ill-treatment or torture was experienced. When the accounts that reveal the findings above are evaluated as a whole, (it can be seen that) the persons were illegally taken to doctor’s examination in company of a police officer. The accounts of the persons who were heard do not contradict one another. When the accounts are evaluated as a whole, they confirm the fact that these persons were subjected to torture and ill-treatment in a way that would not leave any mark of battery or coercion.

Article 17/3 of the Constitution, which stipulates a ban on torture, reads as follows:

“No one shall be subjected to torture or mal-treatment; no one shall be subjected to penalties or treatment incompatible with human dignity.”

In addition, Article 3 of the ECHR is as follows:

“No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

Moreover, Article 1 of Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment states that

“For the purposes of this Convention, the term “torture” means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.

This article is without prejudice to any international instrument or national legislation which does or may contain provisions of wider application.”

These provisions ban torture and ill-treatment in international and national norms.

Furthermore, Article 4 of Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is as follows:

“Each State Party shall ensure that all acts of torture are offences under its criminal law. The same shall apply to an attempt to commit torture and to an act by any person which constitutes complicity or participation in torture.

Each State Party shall make these offences punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account their grave nature.”

International norms stipulate that torture should be defined as crime and penal sanctions should be enforced. Turkey is one of the state parties in the abovementioned convention.

Article 94 of the Turkish Penal Code, titled Torture, is as follows:

“(1) A public officer who performs any act towards a person that is incompatible with human dignity, and which causes that person to suffer physically or mentally, or affects the person’s capacity to perceive or his ability to act of his own will or insults them shall be sentenced to a penalty of imprisonment for a term of three to twelve years.

(2) If the offence is committed against:

1. a) a child, a person who is physically or mentally incapable of defending himself or a pregnant women; or
2. b) a public officer or an advocate on account of the performance of his duty, a penalty of imprisonment for a term of eight to fifteen years shall be imposed.

(3) If the act is conducted in the manner of sexual harassment, the offender shall be sentenced to a penalty of imprisonment for a term of ten to fifteen years,

(4) Any other person who participates in the commission of this offence shall be sentenced in a manner equivalent to the public officer.

(5) If the offence is committed by way of omission there shall be no reduction in the sentence.”

In our Turkish Penal code, the crime of torture entails penal sanctions. In this respect, considering the findings above, an investigation must be launched against the concerned parties and not also the persons who ignore the crime of torture and commit the crime of torture but also anybody else who attacked the physical and mental entity of others must be identified and punished.

Therefore, the law stipulates that

• Considering the fact that the law enforcement officers who carried out the investigation into the detainees could be the suspects of a probable investigation of torture or ill-treatment, they should be suspended from the investigation so that torture and ill-treatment against the detainees can be prevented and the investigation can be carried out effectively;
• Although daily doctor’s examinations must be conducted in accordance with the Istanbul Protocol, to which Turkey is a party, necessary instructions must be submitted for examination procedures to be conducted in accordance with the Istanbul Protocol because law enforcement was kept present during examination in violation of the protocol;
• All the suspects kept in custody in Ankara Provincial Police Headquarters Investigation Department of Financial Crimes must be brought before the prosecutor’s office immediately without getting their statements completed at the police headquarters;
• An investigation must be launched ex-officio for the identification of the persons who committed the crime of torture; an effective investigation must be conducted so that material facts can be revealed and any spoliation of evidence can be forestalled; units and members of Provincial Gendarmerie must be used as per Articles 160/2 and 164 of the CMK no. 5271, and units and members of the police must not be appointed directly in this investigation;
• All the raw camera footages from 20 May 2019 when the detention procedures were started to 28 May 2018 must be collected immediately starting with those of the different places of detention where the suspects were kept at Ankara Provincial Police Headquarters, the camera footages that show the entrances and exits of the Investigation Department of Financial Crimes as well as all the camera footages inside the Investigation Department of Financial Crimes, and the moments when the detained suspects were being taken away for interviews and torture so that the suspect law enforcement officers can be identified; because it is known that camera recordings were previously erased after their preservation for 30 days in similar applications due to claims of law enforcement officers’ battery and torture against both attorneys and suspects, legal obligations must be fulfilled for all pieces of evidence to be collected and protected;
• Considering the fact that the law enforcement officers who carried out the investigation could well be the suspects of a probable investigation of torture or ill-treatment, the staff who were assigned to the said operations must be suspended until the investigation into claims of torture and ill-treatment is completed;
• Considering the fact that a judge who learns about a claim of torture and ill-treatment is obliged to take action and that the Criminal Judge of Peace did not take any action although the persons declared to him that they were subjected to torture, the Criminal Judge of Peace who issued an extension on detention period must be identified and necessary legal action must be taken against him.

In this respect, we bring to the public attention the fact that we are ready to present Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office with the records and documents drawn up by the members of our bar association in the boards and central office in case or when they are demanded and we as Ankara Bar Association will continue the legal struggle to the very end so that torture and ill-treatment can be eliminated.

The regime of Turkish president Erdoğan is kidnapping dozens of members of the Gülen movement from around the world. Victims are now raising a serious accusation: secret torture sites are part of the repression. A team of nine media organizations from eight countries, coordinated by CORRECTIV, investigates.

CORRECTIV – Germany:
https://correctiv.org/en/top-stories-en/2018/12/06/black-sites/#story

LE MONDE – France:
https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2018/12/11/blacksitesturkey-dans-l-archipel-turc-de-la-torture_5395616_3210.html

FRONTAL 21 / ZDF – Germany:
https://www.zdf.de/politik/frontal-21/die-verschleppten-100.html

EL PAIS:
https://elpais.com/internacional/2018/12/10/actualidad/1544463341_680068.html

ADDENTUM:
https://www.addendum.org/news/tatort-tuerkei/

TT – Sweden:
http://www.gp.se/nyheter/v%C3%A4rlden/vittnen-hemliga-tortyrf%C3%A4ngelser-i-turkiet-1.11654420

HAARETZ – Israel:
https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/turkey/.premium.MAGAZINE-how-erdogan-s-loyalists-try-to-make-us-disappear-1.6729331?

IL FATTO QUOTIDIANO – Italy:

MONDAY MORNING – Denmark: