Turkey’s Constitutional Court says strip search is ‘ill treatment’

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Examining an application regarding strip search, the Constitutional Court has concluded that the prohibition of ill treatment has been violated.

CLICK - 'Naked Search' Verdict by Constitutional Court

As reported by Ferit Aslan from Medyascope, the First Section of the Constitutional Court has ruled that a new investigation shall be launched so that the violation in question can be eliminated.

According to the decision of the First Section, the failure to conduct an effective investigation into the allegations of maltreatment by law enforcement officers while being held in the tea room of the police station has violated the Article 17/3 of the Constitution on procedural grounds.

"It has been understood that the violation of the prohibition of ill treatment on procedural grounds was caused by the proceedings of the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office," the decision has read further.

'They made me kneel down and stand up'

Rüya Ağdaş Sönmez had a row with the woman police officer Y.T., who wanted to search her bag at the police search point at the main entrance of Marmaray High-Speed Train station in Yenikapı, İstanbul on August 9, 2016. Sönmez was then taken to the Aksaray Şehit Vedat Ulusoy Police Station in Fatih by women police officers Y.T. and S.K.

The officers took Sönmez to the tea room at the police station and held her there for some time. The same police officers took her to the Haseki Training and Research Hospital to get a forensic medical examination report. Unable to say that she had been subjected to maltreatment and strip search as one of the women officers was with her during the doctor's examination, Sönmez then appealed to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

In her application, Sönmez said:

"Then, we came to the police station with these police officers. To do a body search on me there, the police officers named Y.T. and S.K. made me enter the tea room of the police station. They locked the door and made me stand between them. The police officer named Y.T. held me by my hair and made me fall on the ground. She insulted me, saying, 'Let's see what you are going to do now, you traitor." Then, Y.T. made me stand up and told the police officer S.K., 'I am holding her, come on, hit her.' S.K. did not hit me, but the police officer Y.T., who was holding me, let go of me and smacked me.

"Then, she said, 'We will search you' and wanted me to take off my clothes. I took off my clothes. Then, two female police officers wanted me to kneel down and stand up while I was stark naked. They made me do this successively. I was unable to stand on my feet after this incident. They both said to me, 'Oh, you are doing your sports, too.'

"While I was screaming inside the tea room, I heard the voice of a police officer from outside the door, that officer was asking Y.T., 'When will you be done there?' Then, these women took me to the Haseki Training and Research Hospital. The woman named Y.T. was examined there on her own there while I was accompanied by the police officer named S.K.

"As I had this police officer with me, I did not tell anything, fearing that something would happen to me there all alone.

"Then, I was taken to the police station for the necessary statement. These two female police officers did not let me make a phone call there, either. I want to have another forensic report to be issued about me. I press charges against the police officers Y.T. and S.K., who insulted me and inflicted violence on me. I don't want to compromise."

Investigation ended in non-prosecution

The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation into the issue upon the criminal complaint of Sönmez.

However, the prosecutor's office then gave a decision of non-prosecution "on the grounds that the complainant, who had not allowed the bag search and body search, were used a proportional force, taken to the police station and searched there; the police officers did not overstep the boundaries of the right to use force; there were no sufficient evidence to file a criminal case on the allegation that the police officers stripped, tormented, insulted and threatened the complainant."

In response to this decision, Sönmez made an individual application to the Constitutional Court via her attorney.

According to the decision of the First Section of the Constitutional Court, the failure to conduct an effective investigation into the allegations of maltreatment committed by law enforcement officers while being held in the tea room of the police station has violated the Article 17/3 of the Constitution on procedural grounds. (AS/SD)