Torture scandal at Istanbul Police Department

The indictment records that the three individuals, who were not placed in the detention center, were taken to a room on the second floor and were assaulted there by police officers acting in a unity of intent and action.

ENTRY PREVENTED

The indictment, which includes the statements of witnesses and complainants, summarizes an expert report regarding the security camera footage in the police department corridors. According to the report:

“In the security camera footage inside the police department, it is seen that the individuals entered the room accompanied by police, subsequently 3-4 police officers entered the room and closed the door, lawyers were waiting in front of the door, the lawyers and police officers who wanted to enter tried to open the door but the door was locked, after a while the door was opened, police officers were inside, one person was lying face down on the floor, slogans such as ‘Human dignity will defeat torture’ were chanted inside the room, the crowd in front of the door also chanted slogans, then the door was opened, the crowd waiting outside tried to enter, and the police officers prevented them from entering…”

POLICE OFFICERS IDENTIFIED

The indictment states that the complainants identified the police officers who committed the acts against them from the images in the expert report and provided photographs, and that the identities of these police officers have been determined.

ASSAULT IN A NON-CAMERA AREA

The indictment states the following:

“That suspect A.R.A. took the complainants to the Security Branch floor before taking them to the detention center, took them into a room used by a supervisor on duty at the branch where statements are not taken, and later, together with the other suspects A.C.A., E.D., G.O., H.Ç., and S.B.A. who came to this room, they assaulted the complainants in a unity of intent and action by hitting them with their hands, kicking them, pushing them, pressing on them with their knees, handcuffing complainant Berkan in reverse, and preventing those who wanted to enter the room; that they ended their actions in this room upon the reaction of the lawyers waiting outside and the intervention of their supervisors; however, while the complainants were being taken down to the detention center via the emergency exit stairs, police officer S.B.A. continued his actions by kicking the female suspect and hitting two suspects on the detention floor and in a room located there… that it was determined the complainants were injured…”

''THEY HAD NO UNRULY BEHAVIOR''

The fact that the complainants were under control at the police department before the suspects' actions, and that they did not exhibit any unruly behavior either while being taken to the room where the incident occurred or while being taken down to the detention center, indicates that the findings in the complainants' medical reports exceed the dimension of an injury resulting from a sudden police action, and that the act should be evaluated within the scope of the crime of torture…

Although the suspects stated that they had to use force, the Constitutional Court's decisions accept that an injury of a nature that can be resolved with simple medical intervention exceeds the minimum threshold of the prohibition of ill-treatment, and whether the suspects' actions constitute torture, intentional injury resulting from exceeding the limits of the authority to use force, or remained within the limits of the authority to use force can only be determined as a result of the trial to be held by the court…”

TORTURE IN A PRIVATE AREA

Berkay Ustabaş, one of the victims of torture, described what happened in his statement:

"In the entrance hall, which we can describe as the front office of the detention center, they said that the search would not be done there and that they could search in the search rooms just outside the entrance, so we went there. Our search was conducted. As we were about to enter the detention center, a police officer named A.R. said, 'Let's take them upstairs.' I don't know if an order had been given to that effect. Up to that stage, there was no rude behavior. They took us to the second floor and put us in the security bureau chief's office. All four people detained were there. Suddenly, the police officer named A.R. shouted, 'Turn to the wall, don't talk among yourselves.' I wanted to learn the reason for the change and said that we would not turn to the wall and that if a statement was to be taken, we wanted our lawyer. A.R. pushed me and said, ‘Get out of here.’ He pushed me toward the door. He opened the door and shouted, ‘Look here.’ More than one police officer entered, and as soon as they entered, I heard them say, ‘Are these the ones who hit the police?’

''DO IT DOWNSTAIRS''

One of them punched me in the chest. I was very surprised and said, ‘What happened now?’ The blows continued, and I tried to stay on my feet. I was surprised because, following this behavior, we tried to communicate with the outside. Statements were being taken in the next room, and lawyers were at the door. The police officer named A.R. tripped me, causing me to fall to the ground, and they started pressing their knees onto my head. He said to me, ‘See, this is what you deserved for not doing what I said,’ and continued his violence. The others were hitting me at the same time. During this, I was handcuffed in reverse. Most of the blows hit my head. Meanwhile, the police outside and the lawyers were trying to open the door. There were police officers holding the door from the inside. A short while later, the person I thought was the supervisor entered, and this person said, ‘How many times have I told you, can this be done here? The outside is full of lawyers, you are putting us in a difficult situation, do whatever you are going to do downstairs.’ Upon this, the individuals said, ‘We will play with you downstairs.’ I chanted the slogan, 'Human dignity will defeat torture.'

They took us to the detention center. However, they used the emergency exit stairs, which I consider to be an area without any cameras, to take us there. The police said, ‘There are no cameras here,’ and started throwing kicks and punches at us. I was disturbed by the kicking and punching of our female friends, Sedef Özen and İlayda, who were with us. I used to be the president of the Revolutionary Youth Associations. I think they recognized me because of this and handcuffed me in reverse. A police officer punched me at the base of my neck. This blow hurt the most.”

POLICE THOUGHT THEY WERE ESCAPING

Berkan Bütün and Sedef Özer, who were also tortured, gave similar statements.

The suspect police officers gave statements parallel to the reports they had previously prepared. The police claimed that the suspects wanted to beat the police in the room, that they swore, that they entered the room upon hearing the noise, that they were also insulted and resisted there, and that they used force thinking they were trying to damage state property and trying to escape when they saw the door open.