The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published reports documenting allegations of beatings, electric shocks and prolonged isolation in Turkish detention facilities, following its periodic visits in January 2021 and February 2024.

The two reports examine prisoner conditions in Turkish prisons and detention centres. Their findings are based on the CPT’s visits to various facilities during these two periods.

 The 2021 report focuses on the treatment of people deprived of their liberty by law enforcement agencies and those being held in prison establishments.

The facilities investigated included 13 police and gendarmerie facilities, police headquarters and anti-terrorism departments in Ankara, Diyarbakır and Istanbul, two women’s prisons in Istanbul-Bakırköy and Kayseri, a juvenile prison in Istanbul-Maltepe, and a high-security prison in Diyarbakır.

Following the 2021 visit, another visit took place in February 2024, this time focusing on prisoners in high-security complexes and people serving life sentences. Four high-security prisons in Antalya, Iğdır and Van, and two L-type prisons in Antalya and Istanbul-Maltepe, were visited. Particular emphasis was placed on examining the treatment of women and LGBTQ+ prisoners, as well as those held in single cells for prolonged periods for administrative or disciplinary reasons.

Both reports highlight problems with overcrowding, abuse by staff, a lack of safeguards against abuse or harm, and concerns about the treatment of women, children and LGBTQ+ prisoners. The CPT received credible allegations of prisoners being denied timely access to court-appointed lawyers, held in solitary confinement for prolonged periods, beaten with truncheons by prison officers and subjected to electric shocks to obtain confessions.

Gay and transgender prisoners were found to be held in isolation for extended periods, with the CPT warning Turkish authorities that this could lead to serious physical and mental health issues.

The report states, “persons declaring themselves to be gay are held in de facto solitary confinement for several months until they receive a certificate that declares them gay. Further, every effort should be made to alleviate the de facto solitary confinement conditions for those transgender and gay prisoners who are held in single occupancy cells.”

According to an annual report by the Human Rights Association (İHD), at least 1,842 people were subjected to torture or ill-treatment in Türkiye. The İHD has urged Turkish authorities to act on these findings.

These findings come amid a recent wave of anti-LGBTQ+ arrests and crackdowns in Türkiye under the ‘My Family Is Safe’ campaign, with raids targeting LGBTQ+ activists, organisations and venues.

Both CPT reports and the Turkish authorities’ responses have been made public. The committee hopes to continue discussions with the authorities about the issues raised.

Read the reports here.