Turkish Police Violence Rises Amid 'culture of Impunity', Say Campaigners

Turkey has witnessed an alarming upsurge in police violence and brutality fostered by a "culture of impunity" and a government-inspired contempt for human rights, campaigners said today.

In a damning report, Human Rights Watch said complaints against police for excessive force had risen sharply since the start of last year while the number of officers convicted had dropped. 3,339 people complained about police ill-treatment in 2007 – up from 2,854 the year before – but only 48 of those led to convictions.

The 80-page report, Closing Ranks Against Accountability, gave numerous cases of suspects dying or suffering serious injury at the hands of police, sometimes after being stopped for routine identity checks.

Police frequently covered up evidence, while accused officers were routinely exonerated after internal disciplinary proceedings, the report said.

In one instance, Feyzullah Ete, a 26-year-old factory worker and father of two, died after being kicked in the chest by a plain-clothes officer who had demanded to see his ID in a children's play area.

After a series of private court hearings, closed to the media and human rights activists, the officer, Ali Mutlu, remains free on bail. The dead man's brother is in custody accused of insulting the court after reacting angrily to the decision to release Mutlu.

Launching the report in Istanbul, the Human Rights Watch executive director, Kenneth Roth, said those who lodged complaints frequently later found themselves facing prosecution on counter-charges, such as resisting arrest.

Roth said the rise in violent incidents was partly attributable to laws introduced by the governing Justice and Development party (AKP), which has built its image on a reform program designed to aid Turkey's EU membership bid.

These include a new law permitting police to use lethal force before it becomes a last resort against a threat to life; another allowing officers to conduct identity checks without reasonable grounds for suspicion; and anti-terrorism legislation enabling suspects to be detained for 24 hours without access to a lawyer.

Police felt free to commit violence because they believed themselves "untouchable", Roth said. "A culture of impunity prevails and we fear that culture lies behind this increase in police violence.

"We have called on the government to take a series of steps that would replace this with a culture of accountability."

Attempts at persuading officials during two days of talks in Ankara met stiff resistance, said Roth, particularly from the deputy prime minister, Cemil Cicek, who has special responsibility for human rights.

Cicek reportedly attempted to justify police excesses by referring to alleged abuses in Europe, even citing Ireland's rejection of the EU constitution in a referendum last June.

"I left our meeting with Mr Cicek wondering if he is responsible for upholding human rights or violating them," Roth said.

"He had an utterly contemptuous view of human rights and showed no inclination to take remedial steps. If he is indicative of the state of the reform process in Turkey, then it really is in deep trouble."