A report released by the Foundation for Society and Legal Studies (TOHAV) has claimed that some of the people who were detained last week in Halfeti in southeastern Şanlıurfa province are being exposed to further torture for revealing their ill treatment, the Artı Gerçek news website reported on Wednesday.
Based on a series of interviews conducted with some still in custody and others who were released, the report said the ill treatment of the detainees is still continuing.
They were also reportedly deprived of attorney-client privilege through video surveillance on lawyer meeting rooms. Some were even prevented from seeing their bar-appointed lawyers.
Some 50 people were detained in a counterterrorism operation in Halfeti after a skirmish between armed forces and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Accused of helping the terrorist group, the detainees were seen rear-handcuffed and laid down on the ground side by side, which drew outrage on social media from human rights defenders.
The Şanlıurfa Bar Association’s Human Rights Center later reported that the detainees were subjected to torture during their interrogation and forcibly made to sign false testimonies.
Source: Turkish Minute
