Human Rights Foundation Objects Official Torture Toll

"Deputy PM Beşir Atalay claims that only 2 torture and ill-treatment complaints were reported in the past three years. We are calling the Turkish authorities to be more realist. The real toll is 444," Metin Bakkalcı, Human Rights Foundation of Turkey General Secretary, said.

Bakkalcı said his foundation received 553 torture complaints in 2012 with 220 of them saying that they became subject to torture in the same year. "In 2011, we have received 519 torture complaints with 224 of them saying that they became subject to torture and ill-treatment in the same year. So we received 444 torture complaints."

Bakkalcı underscored that torture and ill-treatment torture has been universally defined and only one definition existed worldwide: "As soon as an individual is detained, any physical or psychological act against their security is considered as torture or ill-treatment."

Bakkalcı complained that government officials (including PM Erdogan) made  statements with a pro-torture connotation.

"Despite some positive improvements between 2000 and 2005 to prevent torture in Turkey, the situation has returned to the old status quo by 2006. Remember the incident in Diyarbakir where 563 people including 203 children were detained and tortured by the police. Remember PM Erdogan's remarks on how the police should do its job despite women and children. Some of 2006 revisions on Turkish Anti-Terror Act had severe implications on children."

Bakkalcı also added the revision on a police officer code in 2007 that led to arbitrary practices and human rights abuses.

Reminding a torture case in Izmir province where a woman was subject to torture by several police officers, Bakkalcı mentioned the challenges victims faced to prosecute their perpetrators.

"The female victim filed lawsuits against the police officers for torture. But police officers also filed lawsuits against the woman for assaulting them. While the police officers were charged to serve 18 months of prison, the woman was charged to serve 6 years of prison."

Bakkalcı also claimed that Istanbul's anti-terror unit chief officer has previous been convicted with torture whose appeal prosecution later on was closed due to statute of limitations." (EKN/BM)