The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV), the Human Rights Association (İHD), and the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) reported that at least 83 suspicious deaths occurred in prisons where mistreatment and torture continue in 2022.
The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, the Human Rights Association, and the Human Rights Division of the Turkish Medical Association issued a joint written statement regarding the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on June 26. The statement stated that “as a result of the ruling political power’s governing style based on pressure and control, the entire country has become a torture chamber.” It was emphasized that the government’s promise of “zero tolerance for torture” remained merely a statement.
According to the report compiled by the Mesopotamia News Agency (MHA) and Gazete Duvar, the following information was included:
“* According to the Documentation Center of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, 1 person died under suspicious circumstances in custody in 2022, and at least 6 people died in the first 5 months of 2023.
- In the first five months of 2023, 270 people applied to the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, claiming to have been subjected to torture and ill-treatment.
- In 2022, the number of people who applied to the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey due to themselves or their relatives being subjected to torture (1,201 people) reached the highest point in the foundation’s 32-year history.
- According to the findings of the Documentation Unit of the Human Rights Association, at least 1,347 people were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment in official detention places in 2022.
- Among those who applied to the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, 50.7% stated that they were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment in police directorates, 5.7% in police stations, and 6.4% in gendarmerie units.
- 30.7% of those who applied to the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey stated that they were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment in detention and transfer vehicles.
- In 2022, 546 people who applied to the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey stated that they were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment in open spaces and during demonstrations, and 177 people stated that they were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment in places such as homes and workplaces.
- As a result of the intervention of security forces in peaceful actions and events, 144 children and at least 5,434 people were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment in 2022, and in the first five months of 2023, 49 children and at least 1,557
