17-year-old says strip searched in detention

A 17-year-old person who was detained during a demonstration of the families of ill prisoners on August 13 in Bahçelievler, İstanbul, said they had been strip searched at the police station.

“Police officers insulted us in the detention vehicle. When I reacted, they inflicted violence on me,” D.T. told the Mezopotamya Agency (MA).

The detained people were taken to the hospital, where they had to wait for about four hours with three plastic handcuffs on their arms, they said.

“I asked the police officers to remove the handcuffs. They said, ‘We can’t remove them because we wre told not to do so.’ They had the stuff to remove the plastic handcuffs, but they said, ‘We don’t have.’ They stalled us and kept us waiting,” said D.T., adding that the doctor refused to give them a medical report showing that they had been battered.

After the hospital, they were taken to the Bahçelievler Children’s Bureau, they said.

“When we entered the Bahçelievler police station, they said they would search us. I didn’t say anything at first, I didn’t know what to do.

“They took me to a room without cameras and told me to take off my clothes. I didn’t want to. Then I had to undress when an officer walked up to me. I was subjected to a strip search. I felt very bad at that moment. Strip search isn’t something legal and I’m not even an adult.”

They were taken to the Bakırköy Courthouse to give a statement a day later, and they mentioned the violence and strip search in their statement, said D.T.

“After my statement was taken, my attorney said, ‘We would like to file a criminal complaint.’ They told us, ‘You can’t do it here, write a petition’.” (AS/VK)