Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Turkey

Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Turkey.

Strasbourg, 15.01.2015 – The Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) published today the report on its most recent visit to Turkey, carried out from 9 to 21 June 2013, together with the response of the Turkish authorities.

In the course of this periodic visit, the CPT reviewed the treatment and conditions of detention of persons detained by the police and gendarmerie as well as the operation in practice of fundamental safeguards against ill-treatment (such as access to a lawyer).

Particular attention was paid to the situation of persons deprived of their liberty in the context of public demonstrations which were ongoing at the time of the visit in different parts of the country (so-called “Gezi protests”); for that purpose, the CPT’s delegation interviewed many demonstrators who had been taken into police custody in Ankara and Istanbul. 

The delegation also visited several prison establishments in Ankara-Sincan, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Izmir, Şanlıurfa and Tekirdağ, where it examined the treatment of prisoners by staff as well as various other issues, including the provision of health care and the regime offered to prisoners (in particular those sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment and juveniles).

In their response, the Turkish authorities provide information on steps taken or envisaged to implement the CPT’s recommendations.The visit report and the response have been made public at the request of the Turkish Government and are available on the CPT’s website: http://www.cpt.coe.int/en/states/tur.htm