CPT to make examinations in Turkish prisons

European Council Committee for the Prevention of Torture will form an “ad-hoc” delegation to make an extra-ordinary examination in Turkish prisons within this week.

The delegation which will be visiting Turkey in connection with increasing complaints and problems about prisons is expected to make examinations in Pozantı Prison, where children were allegedly subjected to sexual abuse and rape, and in Sincan Prison where Pozantı victim children have been held since the exposure of allegations.

Besides visits to Silivri, Urfa, Osmaniye Prisons, the delegation is also expected to visit the Imralı Prison where Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan has been held under isolation since 27 July 2011.

According to information received from Strasbourg, increasing violations and complaints in Turkey have pushed the Committee to send an urgent delegation this week before making the routine examination visit within next year.

Although the AKP government has already been informed about the visit, the delegation will until the last minute not disclose the names of the prisons to be visited.

Speaking to daily Cumhuriyet paper, Prof. Yakın Ertürk, the single Turkish member of the Committee, said that the delegation should certainly make a visit to Urfa Prison in connection with the recent developments. “What happened in Urfa Prison is an inhumane situation that could be defined as ‘torture’. The incident in the prison is unfortunateness in terms of our international obligations. The very poor prison conditions remain in contradiction to both European Council’s and UN’s conventions for the prevention of torture.”

Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) has recently invited CPT to make examinations in many Turkish prisons in consideration of international conventions for the prevention of torture and the European Convention on Human Rights.



ANF / NEWS DESK

ANF NEWS AGENCY