Turkey, in the earthquake zone the police mistreat and torture those suspected of looting: and there is indifference to the violent

ISTANBUL – Law enforcement officers sent to police in the region devastated by the February 6, 2023 earthquakes in Turkey have beaten, tortured and ill-treated people suspected of theft and looting. They report it today Amnesty International And Human Rights Watch (URW). One person died while “in custody”, after being tortured. In some cases, law enforcement did not intervene to prevent people from violently assaulting other people allegedly suspected of crimes. While there have been reports of theft and looting of homes and shops in the aftermath of the earthquake, posing a huge security challenge by law enforcement, international law and Turkish laws themselves prohibit the commission of torture or other ill-treatment of suspects under any circumstances. The Turkish government has long said it supports a “zero tolerance for torture” policy.

Amnesty and HRW interviews. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch interviewed 34 people and, where available, reviewed video footage of 13 cases of violence perpetrated by police, gendarmerie – police in rural areas – or soldiers deployed in the area, involving 34 male victims. Researchers have heard further reports and seen videos of others being severely beaten by security forces, but have not been able to fully confirm these incidents. Those interviewed included 12 victims of torture or other ill-treatment, 2 people threatened by the police, witnesses and lawyers.

The violence in the 10 affected provinces. While in four cases documented by organizations including individuals assisting with earthquake relief they participated in the beating of victims, the main focus of the research was on abuses committed by public officials. All but three cases of torture and other ill-treatment occurred in the city of Antakya in Hatay Province. In four cases, the victims were Syrian refugees and the attacks bore signs of an ulterior xenophobic motivation. All the incidents occurred in the 10 provinces covered by the state of emergency announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on February 7 and approved by parliament two days later. A state of emergency during a natural disaster grants the government powers such as issuing decrees regulating the use of private and public resources – land, buildings, vehicles, fuel, medical supplies and food – in the rescue and relief effort, l ‘use of the army to assist, the control over the opening hours of businesses in the affected region and the restriction of entry into the region.

Death threats. A Turkish man said a gendarme threatened him, saying: “There is a state of emergency, we will kill you … We will kill you and bury you under rubble.” A Syrian man said a police superintendent he complained to when an officer punched him in the face told him: “There is a state of emergency here. Even if that officer kills you, it will not be deemed responsible. No one would be able to tell him anything.”

Vague answers from the Turkish authorities. On March 17, Amnesty International And Human Rights Watch wrote to Turkey’s interior and justice ministers to share research findings and inquire about investigations into allegations of abuse filed and video evidence circulating on social media. On 29 March, the human rights directorate of the Ministry of Justice responded on behalf of both the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior. The ministries said the Turkish government has zero tolerance for torture and said the findings shared by Amnesty International And Human Rights Watch they were “vague claims lacking a factual basis”. The response did not address the findings of human rights organizations or questions asked about specific cases or police practices in the earthquake region under the state of emergency. The joint response from ministries instead focused on the earthquake’s scale, devastation and relief efforts.

Kneel down and get kicked and punched. Most of the victims said they were arrested by groups of policemen, gendarmes or soldiers while they were involved in search and rescue operations of the buildings destroyed by the earthquake or while passing through the districts of Antakya. In most cases, the victims were not taken into official custody but were immediately beaten or forced to lie or kneel while being kicked, slapped and abused for prolonged periods, sometimes while handcuffed. Some were forced to confess to crimes. But only in two cases was there a subsequent investigation against the victims for alleged crimes, casting serious doubts as to whether there was ever a real suspicion that

There are those who have not reported out of fear. Many victims of abuse and violence said they would not file official complaints because they were afraid of reprisals and because they felt the chance of getting justice was remote. Many also said that the deaths of family and friends in the earthquake and the momentous upheavals in their lives overshadowed the abuse they suffered at the hands of the police and gendarmerie. Syrians in particular were very reluctant to file an official complaint, with one woman who worked as a translator for foreign search and rescue teams saying: ‘Most of the gendarmes treated the Syrians like thieves and were very aggressive towards them. they accepted the Syrians in the rescue teams and got very angry”.