At least 27,493 people were subjected to torture and ill-treatment by the police or the gendarmerie in Turkey during the 2002-2020 period.
A total of 86 people have died as a result of torture under the ruling AKP government according to a report prepared by Sezgin Tanrikulu, regarding torture and ill-treatment in the country.
Tanrikulu, an opposition MP from the Republican People’s Party (CHP and the deputy chair of the Parliamentary Human Rights Inquiry Committee, recently announced the findings of the “Report on Torture and Ill-Treatment under AKP Governments in 2002-2020 period.”
The report illustrates a growing pattern of torture, particularly in 2015 during which there were 5,671 documented cases.
Tanrikulu’s report also highlights that enforced disappearances are also widespread since the failed coup of 15th July 2016.
The increase in the serious abuses carried out by the law enforcement agencies seems to be part of the polarised violence climate reigning in the country.
There is an urgent need to act to end torture, inhuman and degrading treatment in Turkey. Standing up against breaches of human rights in Turkey is about standing up for our collective democratic future.
