More than 10,000 people accused of supporting the coup or the alleged mastermind behind the coup Fethullen Gulen have been arrested since the failed attempt to overthrow the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 15.
Through interviews with lawyers and doctors, Amnesty has documented beatings, torture, rape, and denial of food, water and medical treatment widespread through official and unofficial detention centres leading the rights monitor to conclude that the abuse is systemic.
More senior figures detained are subjected to the more serious abuse, Amnesty found.
One detainee being held at the Ankara Police Headquarters had severe wounds consistent with being beaten, a person working at the centre told Amnesty. When the man lost consciousness, a police doctor on duty said, “Let him die. We will say he came to us dead.”
Many have not been informed of the charges against them and have been denied access to a lawyer before court hearings. One lawyer who spoke to Amnesty described defending his client as “trying to find something with the lights off.”
Some lawyers reported detainees brought to court in clothes covered in blood.
“Despite chilling images and videos of torture that have been widely broadcast across the country, the government has remained conspicuously silent on the abuse. Failing to condemn ill-treatment or torture in these circumstances is tantamount to condoning it,” said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty’s Europe director.
On Saturday, Erdogan announced that the length of time a person could be detained without charge was being extended from a maximum 4 days to 30.
“Turkey is understandably concerned with public security at the moment, but no circumstances can ever justify torture and other ill-treatment or arbitrary detention,” said Dalhuisen. “The climate in Turkey right now is one of fear and shock. The government must steer the country on the path to respect for rights and law, not engage in retribution.”
