Torture Still Systematic in Turkey
Keskin and Karakas, who carry out the Legal Assistance Program Against Sexual Harassment and Rape Under Custody, recounted to press the allegations of two women who were detained for being members of an illegal organization.
"The torture method that leaves no physical marks"
According to Keskin, "what the victims tell is a response to the Minister of Justice."
"Systematic torture in Turkey continues," Keskin said.
"We have determined that the Turkish police has not quit torturing detainees. They have found methods that do not leave physical marks and are hard to prove, especially in sexual tortures," Keskin told journalists.
Keskin and Karakas have applied to the prosecutor's office about the two victims. But they are not optimistic that the incident will come out in light legally.
"We have experienced that prosecutors try to hide such incidents. The case about another victim, H.D. was unconcluded. But we want to continue our efforts and seek the rights of these people," they said.
What the two women went through
Lawyer Karakas summarized what21-year old N.C. And 27-year old S.Y., who were detained on September 23 and 24, went through:
* In the past, they used to break arms and legs. But now, they do things that would leave deep scars in the memory and affect victims for a lifetime.
* The police spit into their mouths many times. They spit into their mouths
and prevented them from spitting it out, forcing them to swallow the spit. They took their clothes off, tried to insert a hose, sprayed water with high pressure into to their vaginas or anuses.
* When one of the detainees was naked, a police officer also took his clothes off. He rubbed his penis on the detainee's face and tried to put his penis into her mouth. The police officer asked all three victims whether they were virgins, and whether they have had sex before. Then they told them that these were not important because while raping them they would not fully enter the vagina and thus would not hurt their virginity.
* Both women were kept standing up during the torture. The police officers made them do push-ups, aerobic movements, and things that were degrading. Their aim was to wear them off and make them accept the testimony.
New method in electrification
* The two women were not given anything to eat. Their eyes were bound and they were kept standing with their faces against a wall. There is a new method that was applied on these victims. Before they used to electrify the body directly with cables. This time, they placed a piece of cotton wool on the vagina of a detainee and placed the cable on the cotton wool. They said, "Nobody will be able to prove we electrified you, because we use cotton wools. It is impossible to prove."
* The police officers severely kicked the women on their stomachs. Both had irregular, heavy bleedings in custody although it was not time for their periods. The police officers sprayed water with high pressure on them. And they made fun of the women.
* The women were made to lie down naked. The police officers, who were also naked, lied on top of them and told them that they would be raped.
Both are in a very difficult situation
According to the lawyers, S.Y. is having irregular bleedings now because of the torture she went through. She has severe pains because of the kicks in her stomach, cries all the time and smokes. She has trouble sleeping and concentrating. She wants to be treated and expects help.
N.C. is not any better. She also has irregular bleedings, cries frequently and has difficulty speaking. She doesn't want her family to know what she went through because she is afraid they would be severely affected.
The lawyers said that all these women went to some very difficult time and that they have limited chance to do anything legally because they are in prison. (HA/NK/EA/NM)