İHD: Torture in Urfa Not Documented

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The İHD Women's Central Committee has released a statement on the claims of torture in Halfeti, Urfa, evaluating the incidents in the context of the Council of Europe's İstanbul Convention and İstanbul Protocol.

Fifty-one people were allegedly subjected to torture under detention in the mostly Kurdish-populated southeastern city on May 18.

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The women among the detained people were also reportedly subjected to sexual torture. Representatives of the İHD committee have visited Urfa to investigate the incidents.

Saying that doctors are liable to admit the people brought by the police as patients and to document their medical conditions, the committee noted they should listen to applicants' complaints in a free environment and act in accordance with the international law and medical ethics, citing the İstanbul Protocol.

The committee said that the practices in Halfeti violated "all articles" of the İstanbul Protocol, which holds signatory states responsible for preventing state officials from using violence against women.

"State officials, totally against the protocol, openly practiced violence against women and sexual violence methods," it added.

All the women who were detained in Halfeti reported that police officers were present with doctors when they were taken to the hospital, according to the statement.

"The women who were detained after the incident in Halfeti were tortured and sexually tortured against the Council of Europe's İstanbul Convention and İstanbul Protocol, which is a United Nations document, and the torture was not documented," the committee said. (AS/VK)