ANKARA, Turkey: A U.N. expert says sweeping security measures adopted in Turkey after a failed July 15 coup attempt created an environment conducive to the torture and ill-treatment of detainees despite the presence of legal safeguards.
Briefing reporters Friday in Ankara, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer said he had visited numerous prisons and met law enforcement officials as well as individuals detained over their alleged involvement in the botched coup.
He says "torture and other forms of ill-treatment seem to have been widespread in the days and weeks following the failed coup," particularly at the time of the apprehension.
Melzer spoke at the end of a six-day visit to Turkey to look into torture and will present his findings eventually to the U.N. Human Rights Council.