Gaziantep Bar Association Human Rights Center confirmed torture in Halfeti district of Şanlıurfa province, Turkey.
In a press statement released by the Gaziantep Bar Association said, “The allegations of torture and ill-treatment were true.”
BOLD –
Clashes occurred in Dergili (Derto), Halfeti district of Şanlıurfa when Şanlıurfa anti-terror police teams, police special operations teams and gendarmerie special operations units conducted operation on members of an illegal organization on May 18.
During the clashes between security forces and members of PKK terrorist organization in Halfeti district of Şanlıurfa, one officer lost his life and two members of illegal organization were killed.
After the conflict, a large number of citizens were detained collectively and the allegations of torture and ill-treatment were reflected in the press.
The Board of Directors of Gaziantep Bar Association has assigned Gaziantep Bar Association Human Rights Commission to investigate the allegations of torture and ill-treatment in the province of Şanlıurfa.
In a report prepared by the members of the Bar Association, it was determined that the allegations of “torture and ill-treatment” were true.
TORTURE CLAIMS IN MEDIA
A large number of applications detailing torture claims were made to the Human Rights Center of the Şanlıurfa Bar Association.
In various social media accounts, people defining themselves as special operations police have shared photos of dozens of people with hands cuffed face down on the ground in place which was thought to be the garden of Halfeti Gendarmerie Station.
According to lawyer members of Şanlıurfa Bar Association Human Rights Center, it was confirmed that these allegations and suspicions have been proven true by the lawyers’ investigations into prosecution meetings and interviews with detainees. Gaziantep Bar Association has not shared names of the victims and their lawyers due to security concerns.
ELECTROSHOCK, SQUEEZING BALLS, VIOLATION OF LAWYER-CLIENT CONFIDENTIALITY
Gaziantep Bar Association report said, “The detainees were subjected to torture for a long time after being placed face down on the ground during the detention and handcuffed behind their back. This situation is clearly understood from the captured photos and the scar marks and stitches in the persons. Also they are in accordance with the statements of the persons.”
The Gaziantep Bar Association Human Rights Center report detailed human rights violations, the torture and ill treatment cases. The findings of the report is listed as follows:
- Suspects under detention were prohibited to communicate with their lawyers for a long time.
- Prohibition of lawyer-client meetings and/or violation of their confidentiality,
- Presence of appointed lawyers from “central appointing system (OCAS)” instead of suspects’ personal lawyers during custodial interrogation,
- Electric shocks, squeezing balls of male detainees,
- A 50 year old female detainee’s genital areas electrified, severely beaten and subjected to severe insults,
- Bruises in various parts of a 60-year-old male detainees’s body,
- A male detainee was beaten for 4 hours in detention center, and he was also beaten in the hospital and ambulance.
TORTURE CLAIMS COVERED UP
- Detainees were threatened not to bring their torture claims in court hearings,
- Judges and prosecutors were reluctant to record torture and ill-treatment claims in court documents,
- Prosecutors have not investigated torture claims,
- Torture claims were covered up,
The report concluded that “there were intense cases of torture in judicial units in Şanlıurfa.”
Gaziantep Bar Association demanded all male and female detainees who are being detained and tortured in Şanlıurfa Police Department Anti-Terror Branch should be immediately dispatched to medical jurisprudence.
Bar Association also asked the detainees should be transferred to other units immediately and the necessary inspections should be carried out regarding their situation.
For the English translation of Gaziantep Bar Association Human Rights Center full report
https://boldmedya.com/en/2019/06/10/gaziantep-bar-associations-report-on-torture-claims-in-halfeti-district-of-sanliurfa/