‘Law is suspended’: Turkish lawyers report abuse of detainees in failed coup
ANKARA, Turkey — Thousands of people taken into custody since Turkey’s attempted coup are being held in sports facilities and stables, where some have been beaten and mistreated, according to lawyers familiar with the cases.
Lawyers from the Ankara Bar Association’s human rights commission say members have reported the alleged abuses after trying to meet with clients. Other lawyers and human rights organizations have made similar allegations.
In addition to verbal and physical abuse, clients complained about a lack of food and that their hands have been bound for days, said Sercan Aran, deputy head of the commission. The mistreatment is “systematic,” he said, while lawyers have been prevented from documenting physical signs of beatings and abuse.
The Turkish government strongly denies the allegations, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stressed in interviews that due process is being followed.
“We are doing everything according to the law,” said a Turkish official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with government protocol. He said that the law is being upheld and that he “categorically denies” that prisoners have been abused in custody.
The United States and Europe have urged Turkey to maintain democracy and respect for human rights after the attempted coup, which left at least 232 people dead as a rebel faction of the military bombed parliament and police bases with hijacked aircraft.
Ina large-scale crackdown on alleged coup plotters, more than 9,000 people — largely troops — have been taken into custody, while 50,000 others have been fired or suspended while they are investigated. Erdogan, who has declared a state of emergency, has pledged to “cleanse” what he has described as a “cancer” that has metastasized in the country.
“Right now, law is suspended,” Aran said. “We see investigations going on without any rule of law. Yes, the military intervention was stopped, the military dictatorship was stopped, but right now we see they are trying to build a civilian dictatorship.”
The state of emergency has compounded fears among lawyers and human rights groups that the rule of law will be eroded, which would threaten Turkey’s long-standing bid to join the European Union.