Constitutional Court: State is obliged to protect prisoners

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The Constitutional Court has ruled announced its detailed ruling regarding the application of a convict at the Elazığ No. 2 High-Security Prison for being subjected to ill-treatment.

The high court ordered the state to pay 67,5000 lira to Yasin Güngör for non-pecuniary damages and ruled that the case file should be sent to the Elazığ Chief Public Prosecutor's Office for an investigation to be opened into the allegations of ill-treatment.

"Obligation for a reasonable explanation"

The court ruled that the material aspect of the prohibition of ill-treatment was violated in respect of substance by a majority vote and on procedural grounds by a unanimous vote.

The state has the obligation to make a "reasonable explanation" if people who claim to be subjected to ill-treatment have injuries on their bodies, the court noted.

"An investigation should be conducted"

The decision also noted the "positive obligation of the state."
"The positive obligation of the state within the scope of the right to protect the material and moral property of the person has a procedural dimension. Within the framework of this procedural obligation, the state is obliged to conduct an effective official investigation that can ensure that those responsible for any incident of physical and mental assault are identified and, if necessary, punished."

Correction officers

The high court further noted that prosecutors had not taken statements from correction officers after an investigation was opened after the complaint of the prisoner and medical reports indicating that he had suffered violence.

"The statement of the personnel of the Institution was taken by the second director of the Institution where the alleged ill-treatment took place. In order to be able to talk about the independence of the investigating authorities, investigations into public officials should be carried out independently of the persons involved in the incident and who are likely to be responsible."

Taking into account the prisoner's claims that the ill-treatment was systematic, this situation rightfully cast doubt on the seriousness of the investigation, said the court.

Prosecutors had dismissed the investigation despite medical reports supporting the prisoner's claims, which does not comply with the obligation of an effective investigation, noted the court.

What happened?

Yasin Güngör was sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison for "being a member of an armed terrorist organization" by the Diyarbakır 5th Heavy Penal Court on January 23, 2014.

In a petition he filed with the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on May 4, 2018, Güngör alleged that he had been subjected to violence from the prison officers.

In the petition, Güngör said he had heard voices from the corridor on May 2, 2018, at around 7 p.m. He pushed the panic button and told the officers who were looking at him through the peephole of his cell that he wanted to learn about what was happening.

After that, more than 10 officers went into his cell and inflicted violence on him without saying anything, causing him to lose his conscience and fall to the ground, he claimed. The officers beat, injured and insulted him, he said and filed a complaint.

A medical report issued by the Elazığ Training and Research Hospital also confirmed his injuries.

The guardians said they had "intervened" because the prisoner had resisted them.

The Elazığ Chief Public Prosecutor's Office dismissed the investigation on June 6, 2018. After his appeals were rejected, Güngör filed an individual application with the Constitutional Court. (AS/VK)