ISTANBUL – Human Rights Watch (HRW) claim those detained following a failed military coup attempt were being tortured by security services. And the Turkish government were turning a blind eye to the abuse which included accusations of beatings, sleep deprivation, sexual abuse and threat of rape.
Ankara has repeatedly denied these accusations and said the post-coup crackdown was needed to stabilize a NATO state facing threats from Kurdish militants as well as wars in neighbouring Iraq and Syria.
Europe and Central Asia director at HRW, Hugh Williamson, said it “would be tragic if two hastily passed emergency decrees end up undermining the progress Turkey made to combat torture. By removing safeguards against torture, the Turkish government effectively wrote a blank check to law enforcement agencies to torture and mistreat detainees as they like.”
Of those suspected of having links with Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based cleric blamed for orchestrating the coup attempt, more than 35,000 people have been arrested, thousands more have been detained and over 100,000 people have been sacked. Gulen denies the charge.
The wide scale crackdown is justified by the government by the gravity of the threat to the state on July 15 (the date of the attempted coup), when rogue soldiers commandeered tanks and fighters jets, bombing parliament and killing more than 240 people. A state of emergency was declared days after the failed coup, allowing him and the cabinet to bypass parliament in enacting new laws and to limit or suspend rights and freedoms as they deemed necessary. For example, the period of police detention without judicial review is now 30 days, the denial of access to lawyers for detainees’ access for up to five days and to restrict their choice of lawyer.
Be the first to comment