Torture appeared widespread after Turkey coup: UN expert


Date posted: December 5, 2016

Ankara (AFP) – Measures taken in Turkey after the July 15 coup attempt created an “environment conducive to torture”, and ill treatment appears to have been widespread immediately after the failed putsch, a UN expert said Friday.

Turkey is under a state of emergency, extended for 12 weeks in October, after a rogue military faction tried to remove President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from power on July 15.

“Some recently passed legislation and statutory decrees created an environment conducive to torture,” UN special rapporteur on torture Nils Melzer told reporters in Ankara.

Melzer’s visit, the first by a UN torture expert to Turkey since 1998, comes a month after US-based watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Turkish police of torturing detainees.

Since July, more than 100,000 people in the judiciary, military, media, civil service and education sector have been detained, dismissed or suspended.

In total, 37,000 people have been arrested and some have claimed torture, according to human rights groups.

Just over a week after the coup bid, Amnesty International said it had “credible evidence” of the abuse and torture of people detained in the sweeping arrests.

According to Melzer, torture appears to have been widespread in the immediate after July 15, based on information given during his week-long visit.

“Testimonies received from inmates and their lawyers suggests that in the days and weeks following the failed coup torture and other forms of ill treatment were widespread.”

He added that ill treatment seemed to have ceased for those prisoners arrested for reasons related to the attempted coup.

During his six-day visit, he went to places of detention in Ankara, Diyarbakir, Sanliurfa and Istanbul where conditions were “satisfactory”, he said.

And the independent expert stressed that Turkey had the safeguards in place to prevent abuse and “thanks to the government’s commitment, substantial progress has been made against torture since the 1990s”.

The Turkish government has previously denied all forms of torture have taken place while insisting that it is dealing with an extraordinary situation within the rule of law.

Source: Yahoo News , December 2, 2016

Tags: | | | |


Related News

To save itself, Turkish govt stabs hard-won democracy

“I don’t want to say that – but this is an executive coup over judiciary,” lawmaker Bal said. He noted that blaming the graft scandal on a “parallel state” – a phrase Erdogan often employs to describe his alleged opponents within the state – significantly damages Turkey’s reputation.

Disabled woman loses health care due to son-in-law’s Gülen links

Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, a member of parliament from Turkey’s left wing pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), said the health care benefits of a gravely disabled woman were cut off because her son-in-law was a public servant dismissed from his job by government decree.

Kimse Yok Mu sends next party of aid to Syrian refugees

Turkish government, nongovernmental organizations and public are doing their best to show the greatest hospitality to war-weary Syrian refugees across the country. Kimse Yok Mu’s Bursa branch also made its best to contribute these relief works and the organization sent the next party of aid worth at TL 300,000 (USD 150,000) on Thursday.

Oligarchic clique’s devious plans

Şahin, a longtime friend and political partner of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, insisted that “the government is run by a small oligarchy of elites in a way that excludes broad segments of the party constituency and the Turkish people.”

AKP turns medical university into its headquarters

Şifa University, which was seized by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government due to links to the Gülen movement, has been transformed into the AKP’s İzmir provincial headquarters.

The Process Behind Turkey’s Proposed Extradition of Fethullah Gülen

By publicly campaigning for Gülen’s immediate extradition—before a formal request had been submitted—Turkish officials reinforced the idea that the United States is somehow protecting Gülen or resisting the extradition process. That is not true. There will be critics of any eventual decision, just as there are critics of the delay in reaching a decision. Whatever the result, both governments should communicate the decision with consideration for the long-term relationship and should operate on the assumption that the other is acting in good faith.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Turkish president approves closure of schools run by Erdogan rival

Woman says husband abducted after losing job in post-coup crackdown

Gursel Tekin: Gulen’s remarks on the third bridge are valuable

Second Annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Reception & Award Ceremony

Who stalls the reforms [in Turkey]?

Abant Platform meeting launches with identity debates in Turkey

Swoboda accuses Erdoğan of using Hizmet movement as a pretext

Copyright 2025 Insightful Neighbor