MPs Acknowledge Torture at Beyoğlu Police Station

The commission on human rights at the Turkey's National Assembly reveals a report on allegations of rights violations at Istanbul, Beyoğlu police station. The report tackles three incidents:

Mehmet Şah aras and his son Serhet Aras complained that they were beaten by police officers on the night of 30 October 2008. They alleged that officers took them into a vehicle and left after maltreatment and torture.

Hakim Adlığ was taken under custody on 29 March 2009. Police mistook him for a man, who had harmed police officers during a fight the previous day. He complained that officers beat him.

Police officers who were after a fugitive, Çağdaş Kulaçatan raided the houses of friends and family, meanwhile using excessive force.

The commission came to the conclusion that the police was culpable in the first two incidents, acknowledging the existence of torture. Commission members talked to accused officers as well as contestants. The MPs witnessed "a trouble in police's relation to citizens".

"Istanbul Governorship and the Police Department should investigate the problem and come up with solutions."

The report also notes that the official inquiries into the allegations are left unattended and dragged. It concludes that there's a inaptitude of management at the station and the police chiefs fail to tackle the issue.

MPs Zafer Üskül, Mehmet Ekinci, Mehmet Ocakden, Ayşe Jale Ağırbaş and Çetin Soysal compiled the report.(EZÖ/AGÜ)