SUBMITTED ON THE OCCASION OF THE EXAMINATION OF THE TURKISH
5TH PERIODIC REPORT TO BE CONSIDERED AT THE 80TH SESSION OF THE
UN COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE
MOUVEMENT CONTRE LE RACISME ET POUR L’AMITIÉ ENTRE LES PEUPLES (MRAP)
Is a French organisation born of underground resistance to Nazism and fascism, it was officially founded in 1949 on the initiative of former members of the Resistance and deportees. MRAP is member of the French National Human Rights Institution (Commission Nationale Consultative des Droits de l’Homme – CNCDH) and it enjoys UN-ECOSOC status since 1974.
The objectives of the organisation are to combat all forms of racism, promote friendship among peoples and equal rights for all human beings.
KURDISH CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (Kurd-CHR)
Is a Swiss organisation created in 2000, whose main objective is to collect and analyse information about the violation of human rights of the Kurdish people in Türkiye, Syria, Irak and Iran and to inform the public, as well as the UN Human Rights mechanisms.
The organisation also develops cultural projects aiming to raise awareness of Kurdish culture and support the integration of the Kurdish population in Switzerland.
INTRODUCTION
Torture is defined in Article 1 of the “Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment”.
The term “torture” means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in, or incidental to lawful sanctions.
Article 2 of the Convention states: “Each State Party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction. No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture. An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification for torture.”
- TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT PRACTICES IN OFFICIAL DETENTION CENTERS
In recent years, due to factors such as evading law, rule, and norm supervision, arbitrariness, and deliberate neglect, there has been a significant increase in torture and other ill-treatment practices in official detention centers. This increase is attributed to the violation of procedural safeguards, prolonged detention periods, the ineffectiveness or absence of monitoring and prevention mechanisms, and the dysfunctionality or non-existence of independent monitoring and prevention. Many alarming torture practices in official detention centers have been reflected in the media, court records, and reports of national and international human rights institutions.
Despite the controlled acceptance of applications due to pandemic measures in 2020, 605 people applied to the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFT) claiming to have been subjected to torture and ill-treatment. Of these, 31 were relatives of applicants, and 12 were subjected to torture and ill-treatment outside of Turkey. Among the 562 people who applied to HRFT because they were directly subjected to torture and ill-treatment in Turkey, 283 (50%) reported being tortured in police headquarters, and 73 (13%) in police stations. Additionally, 134 (34%) reported being subjected to torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement in detention and transfer vehicles.
According to the Human Rights Association (IHD) Documentation Unit, in 2020, 383 people, including 10 children, were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment in official detention places.
According to the HRFT Documentation Center, at least 192 people were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment in official detention places in 2020, and one person died suspiciously in detention. In the first five months of 2021, at least 86 people were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment in detention, and one person died suspiciously while performing mandatory military service.
Download the full report:
