Prisoners abused in southeast Turkey: HRW

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says police in Turkey have abused prisoners while responding to perceived security threats in the troubled southeastern part of the country.

The HRW released a report on Wednesday that listed the alleged abuse of detainees at the hands of police officers in the southeastern Turkish province of Sirnak.

The New York-based group revealed documents showing that at least three Kurdish detainees were harshly beaten, kicked and forced to remain in kneeling positions for hours. The three men were reportedly detained during an August 7, 2015 security operation in the predominantly Kurdish district of Silopi near the Iraqi Kurdistan border.

“Three men were taken into police custody on suspicion of being Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members in front of a hospital to which they had driven relatives and neighbors in need of treatment for injuries sustained during armed clashes. Six other men were also arrested at the hospital that day. The three interviewed said they had been beaten while being taken into custody, and again on arrival at the police station, with rifle butts, fire extinguishers, chains, batons and brass knuckles, and threatened with further abuse and death,” the report read. 

Meanwhile, Benjamin Ward, the Europe and Central Asia division deputy director at the HRW, has expressed serious concerns over the alleged abusive behavior by the Turkish security forces.

“It’s deeply worrying that police in Turkey’s southeast seem to be returning to abusive tactics in response to the security threats,” Ward said.

The group said that, in another case, police denied adequate medical treatment to a seriously wounded 17-year-old boy who was taken into police custody in the town of Cizre on July 30.

The HRW also demanded that those behind the alleged acts be brought to justice. “The authorities should urgently investigate and prosecute those responsible, and ensure that people in custody are protected from ill-treatment and have prompt access to proper medical treatment.” 

Senior officials at the HRW say they have made several efforts to discuss such issues with the governor of Shirnak Province and other authorities but have not received responses, yet.

The report comes as Turkey has been launching airstrikes against purported Daesh targets in Syria as well as PKK positions in Iraq since a Daesh bomb attack on July 20 left 32 people dead in the southeastern Turkish town of Suruc, which lies across the border from the northern Syrian town of Kobani.

A shaky ceasefire that had stood since 2013 was declared null by the PKK following the Turkish airstrikes against the group, narrowing chances for the two sides to reach a deal in the near future.

Reports say over 60 Turkish soldiers have been killed in clashes with PKK militants over the past weeks.

The PKK has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region inside Turkey since the 1980s. The conflict has left tens of thousands of people dead.

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