Europaudvalget 2020-21
EUU Alm.del Bilag 152
Offentligt
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CPT/Inf (2020) 24 - Part
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The main objective of the CPT’s May 2019 visit to Turkey was to examine the treatment and safeguards
afforded to persons detained by law enforcement agencies. To this end, the CPT’s delegation visited a
great number of police and gendarmerie establishments as well as remand prisons in different parts of
Turkey and interviewed hundreds of persons who were or had recently been held in police custody in
the Ankara, Diyarbakır, Istanbul and Şanlıurfa areas. On the occasion of the visit, the delegation also
went
to Imralı F-type
High-Security
Prison (‘Imralı Prison’), in order to examine the treatment and
conditions of detention of all prisoners held there and to review the measures taken by the Turkish
authorities in the light of the recommendations made by the CPT after the April 2016 visit.
Police custody
As was the case during the CPT’s 2017 visit, the delegation received a considerable number of
allegations of excessive use of force and/or physical ill-treatment by police/gendarmerie officers from
persons who had recently been taken into custody (including women and juveniles). These allegations
mainly consisted of slaps, kicks, punches (including to the head and/or face) and truncheon blows
after the persons concerned had been handcuffed or otherwise brought under control. A significant
proportion of the allegations related to beatings during transport or inside law enforcement
establishments, apparently with the aim of securing confessions or obtaining other information, or as
a punishment. Further, numerous detained persons claimed to have been subjected to threats and/or
severe verbal abuse. Moreover, a number of allegations were once again received of excessive use of
force and/or physical ill-treatment by members of the mobile motorcycle intervention teams (so-
called ‘Yunus’)
in Istanbul. In a number of cases, the allegations of physical ill-treatment were
supported by medical evidence, such as bodily injuries documented in medical records or directly
observed by medical members of the delegation.
Overall, the CPT has gained the impression that, compared to the findings of the 2017 visit, the
severity of alleged police ill-treatment has diminished. However, the frequency of allegations remains
at a worrying level. The Committee stresses once again the need for more decisive action by all
relevant authorities in order to combat the phenomenon of police ill-treatment in Turkey and reiterates
its recommendation that a clear and firm message of “zero tolerance” of ill-treatment
be delivered to
all law enforcement officials, from the highest political level, namely the President of the Republic.
As concerns fundamental safeguards against ill-treatment, it transpired from the information gathered
during the visit that notification of custody to a relative (or another trusted person) was generally
performed soon after apprehension and that detained persons usually had access to a lawyer whilst in
police custody. However, as during previous visits to Turkey, a number of detained persons claimed
that the police had granted their request for an
ex officio
lawyer only after a considerable delay, in
order to be able to informally question them about the suspected offence without the presence of a
lawyer (prior to the taking of a formal statement). The CPT also remains concerned about the
existence of legal restrictions regarding access to a lawyer during the initial phase of police custody
for certain serious crimes, and it emphasises the importance for the prevention of ill-treatment of
guaranteeing such access from the very outset of police custody.
Further, despite the specific recommendations repeatedly made by the Committee after previous
visits, the system of mandatory medical controls at the outset and end of police/gendarmerie custody
remained fundamentally flawed. In particular, in the vast majority of cases, law enforcement officials
continued to be present during medical controls and such controls were often carried out without any
physical examination. Moreover, several persons claimed that they had been threatened not to show
their injuries by police officers present during medical controls.
 EUU, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 152: Henvendelse af 8/12-20 fra Internationalt Initiativ vedr. Abdullah Öcalan
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As regards conditions of detention, in all the law enforcement establishments visited, detention
facilities were in a good state of repair and generally clean. That said, due to major structural
deficiencies, the CPT considers these facilities to be unsuitable for detention lasting more than a few
days. In particular, many cells did not have access to natural light, and in none of the establishments
visited had arrangements been made to enable detained persons to have access to the open air. The
situation was further exacerbated by the fact that detained persons were often held under very
cramped conditions (e.g. up to four persons in cells of some 9 m²). It is also a matter of concern that
persons held overnight in police custody were still often not provided with a mattress (in addition to
blankets). In addition, many detained persons claimed that they had received no or insufficient food
and, on occasion, no drinking water and that they had not been provided with personal hygiene
products during their stay in police custody. The CPT recommends that these shortcomings be
remedied.
Specific issues related to the prisons visited
Notwithstanding the expansion of the prison estate and greater use of conditional release and
alternative non-custodial measures, the problem of prison overcrowding remained acute, and the
steady increase in the size of the prison population already observed in the mid-2000s continued.
With the
exception of Diyarbakır Juvenile Prison, the official capacities of all the establishments
visited were being greatly exceeded at the time of the visit. Consequently, a large number of inmates
in these prisons did not have their own bed and had to sleep on mattresses placed on the floor.
Moreover, in some living units, prisoners were even obliged to share mattresses, as no floor space
was left for additional mattresses.
The CPT recalls that constructing new prisons is not likely, in itself, to provide a lasting solution
to the problem of overcrowding. Addressing this problem calls for a coherent strategy, covering both
admission to and release from prison, to ensure that imprisonment
–
including pre-trial detention
–
really is the measure of last resort. The Committee once again calls upon the Turkish authorities
to take decisive action to curb prison population inflation and to eradicate prison overcrowding, in the
light of the remarks made in the visit report and relevant recommendations of the Committee of
Ministers of the Council of Europe.
Despite the specific recommendations repeatedly made by the Committee after previous visits,
the procedure for medical screening of newly-arrived remand prisoners continued to display major
shortcomings. In particular, it was not uncommon for newly-admitted prisoners to be seen by a doctor
only after a considerable delay or not to be seen at all, and the screening generally did not include a
physical examination of the prisoner. Moreover, no progress was observed as regards other issues of
concern to the CPT, such as the continued lack of respect for medical confidentiality and the recording
and reporting of injuries, as well as health-care staffing levels.
Further, in several of the prisons visited, the delegation observed that newly-arrived inmates with
acute opioid withdrawal signs were left unattended, without receiving painkillers or other
symptomatic treatment. Such a state of affairs is not acceptable. The CPT recommends that the
Turkish authorities take the necessary steps to ensure that, in all prisons, newly-arrived prisoners with
drug addiction problems are systematically identified and that those suffering from withdrawal signs
are promptly provided with adequate treatment (i.e. substitution treatment or treatment relieving the
symptoms).
 EUU, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 152: Henvendelse af 8/12-20 fra Internationalt Initiativ vedr. Abdullah Öcalan
Situation of prisoners held at Imralı Prison
As during previous visits, the delegation received no allegations of ill-treatment of prisoners by prison
officers. Further, the health-care services and material conditions of detention remained generally
satisfactory.
However, the situation regarding the
prisoners’ regime had not improved at all since
the
CPT’s
2016
visit. They were still only allowed to associate all together for six hours per week, as well as in pairs
for an additional three hours per week, and association during daily outdoor exercise remained
prohibited. As a result, all prisoners were being held in solitary confinement for most of the time
(i.e. 159 hours out of 168 hours per week, including 24 hours per day at weekends). In the
Committee’s
view, such a state of affairs is
not acceptable. The CPT calls upon the Turkish authorities
to take steps without further delay to ensure that all prisoners held at Imralı Prison are allowed to
associate together during daily outdoor exercise, as well as during all other out-of-cell activities.
Further, the Committee reiterates that the underlying concept of the detention regime of persons
sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment is fundamentally flawed. It once again calls upon the
Turkish authorities to carry out a complete overhaul of the detention regime applied to prisoners
sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment in Turkish prisons.
The issue of contact with the outside world of prisoners held at Imralı Prison has been the
subject
of a long-standing intense dialogue between the CPT and the Turkish authorities, given that no visits
by lawyers had been granted since July 2011 and that hardly any visits by family members had taken
place since October 2014. The situation was further exacerbated by the fact that, following
the military coup attempt of 15 July 2016, a total ban on contacts with the outside world (including
correspondence) was imposed on all prisoners, which resulted in a type of incommunicado
imprisonment. As repeatedly stressed by the CPT in its dialogue with the Turkish authorities, such
a state of affairs is not acceptable and clearly contravenes various relevant international human rights
instruments and standards.
The CPT also notes with great concern that, following the lifting of the state of emergency (in July
2018), all prisoners continued to be denied visits by their lawyers and family members.
That said, the Committee welcomes the fact that, shortly before the 2019 visit, the judicial ban on
lawyers’ visits
was lifted and Abdullah Öcalan was granted the first visit by lawyers since July 2011.
Further, four more lawyers’ visits took place until the beginning of August 2019. However, since then
all requests for visits submitted by lawyers have apparently been turned down. As regards family
visits, the situation has slightly improved since the May 2019 visit with all prisoners being able to
receive a visit from family members in June and August 2019, despite the existence of disciplinary
sanctions of prohibition of family visits.
The Committee acknowledges that there may be valid security reasons to introduce certain restrictions
vis-à-vis prisoners on the exercise of their right to have contacts with the outside world. However,
a balance must be struck between such security considerations and the basic human rights of
the prisoners concerned. The measures taken thus far by the Turkish authorities since the May 2019
visit are a significant step in the right direction. That said, much more needs to be done to render
the situation acceptable. More specifically, a sustainable system of regular visits by family members
and lawyers should be developed for all prisoners held
at Imralı Prison.