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/></td> <td> <p style="font-size:1.4em;">United Nations</p> </td> <td> <p> <span style="font-size:2em;">CAT</span>/C/TUR/CO/4</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td> <p style="font-weight:bold;font-size:1.7em;">Convention against Tortureand Other Cruel, Inhumanor Degrading Treatmentor Punishment</p> </td> <td> <p>Distr.: General</p> <p>2 June 2016</p> <p> </p> <p>Original: English</p> <p> </p> </td> </tr> </table> <div class="content"> <p style="font-weight:bold;font-size:1.2em;">Committee against Torture</p> <h2 style="font-weight:bold;">Concluding observations on the fourth periodic reports of Turkey *</h2> <p>1.The Committee against Torture considered the fourth periodic report of Turkey (CAT/C/TUR/4) at its 1406th and 1409th meetings, held on 26 and 27 April 2016 (CAT/C/SR.1406 and 1409), and adopted the present concluding observations at its 1424th and 1426th meetings, held on 10 and 11 May 2016.</p> <h3>A.Introduction</h3> <p>2.The Committee expresses its appreciation to the State party for accepting the optional reporting procedure, as this allows for a more focused dialogue between the State party and the Committee.</p> <p>3.The Committee welcomes the dialogue held with the State party s delegation during the consideration of the report.</p> <h3>B.Positive aspects</h3> <p>4.The Committee welcomes the State party s ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on 27 September 2011.</p> <p>5.The Committee also welcomes the following legislative measures taken by the State party in areas related to the Convention:</p> <p>(a)The amendment in April 2013 of article 94 of the Criminal Code, which now specifies that criminal liability for acts of torture is no longer subject to a statute of limitations, as recommended by the Committee in its previous concluding observations (see CAT/C/TUR/CO/3, para. 24);</p> <p>(b)The promulgation, on 11 April 2012, of Law No. 6291 on  Amending the Law on the Execution of Punishments and Security Measures and the Law on Probation, Help Centres and Protection Board , which promotes the use and application of alterative measures to deprivation of liberty;</p> <p>(c)The enactment, on 11 April 2013, of Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection, which includes a provision on subsidiary protection for individuals in danger of being subjected to torture if returned to their country of origin or habitual residence (art. 63 (1) (b));</p> <p>(d)The entry into force, on 20 March 2012, of Law No. 6284 on the Protection of the Family and Prevention of Violence against Women.</p> <p>6.The Committee takes note of the State party s initiatives to amend its policies and procedures in order to afford greater protection of human rights and to apply the Convention, in particular the update of the National Action Plan on Combating Violence against Women for the period 2016-2019.</p> <p>7.The Committee values the substantial efforts made by the State party to respond to the massive influx of asylum seekers, persons in need of international protection and undocumented migrants arriving in its territory. It also commends the State party for having admitted and/or accommodated over 2.7 million Syrian refugees fleeing from armed conflict in their country, as well as thousands of asylum seekers and refugees from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iraq, the Sudan and other countries.</p> <p>8.The Committee appreciates the fact that the State party maintains a standing invitation to the special procedures mechanisms of the Human Rights Council.</p> <h3>C.Principal subjects of concern and recommendations</h3> <h3>Impunity for acts of torture and ill-treatment</h3> <p>9.The Committee is concerned that, despite the fact that the State party has amended its law to the effect that torture is no longer subject to a statute of limitations, it has not received sufficient information on prosecutions for torture, including in the context of cases involving allegations of torture that have been the subject of decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. The Committee is also concerned that there is a significant disparity between the high number of allegations of torture reported by non-governmental organizations and the data provided by the State party in its periodic report (see paras. 273&#8209;276 and annexes 1 and 2), suggesting that not all allegations of torture have been investigated during the reporting period. Further, while the State party has undertaken many investigations into allegations of ill-treatment and excessive use of force by its officials, these have resulted in relatively few cases of disciplinary sanctions, and in fines and imprisonment in only a small number of cases. The Committee regrets that the State party did not provide information requested by the Committee on the six cases in which officials received sentences of imprisonment for ill-treatment between 2011 and 2013, nor on any cases in which officials received sentences of imprisonment for ill-treatment in 2014 or 2015. The Committee further regrets that State party did not respond to the concern raised by Committee members that law enforcement authorities have on many cases brought  countercharges, such as  resisting or  insulting police officers, against those individuals lodging complains of torture, ill-treatment and other police brutality. The Committee further regrets, with reference to its previous recommendations (see CAT/C/TUR/CO/3, para. 8), that the State party has not yet created an independent State body to investigate complaints of torture and ill-treatment against law enforcement officers (arts. 2, 4, 12 and 13 and 16).</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">10. The Committee urges the State party to:</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(a) Ensure that all instances and allegations of torture and ill-treatment are investigated promptly, effectively and impartially and that the perpetrators are prosecuted and convicted in accordance with the gravity of their acts;</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(b) Ensure that alleged perpetrators of torture and ill-treatment are immediately suspended from duty for the duration of the investigation, particularly when there is a risk that they might otherwise be in a position to repeat the alleged act, to commit reprisals against the alleged victim or to obstruct the investigation;</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(c) Ensure that state officials do not use the threat of countercharges as a means of intimidating detained persons or their relatives into not reporting torture;</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(d) Provide in its next periodic report statistical data on allegations of torture and ill-treatment, disaggregated by relevant indicators, including ethnicity of the victim, and information on cases in which individuals alleging torture or ill&#8209;treatment by the authorities have subsequently been charged with an additional criminal offence;</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(e) Establish an independent authority tasked with investigating complaints against law enforcement officers that is independent of the police hierarchy, as previously recommended by the Committee.</p> <h3>Allegations of torture and ill-treatment of detainees in the context of counter&#8209;terrorism operations</h3> <p>11.The Committee is seriously concerned about numerous credible reports of law enforcement officials engaging in torture and ill-treatment of detainees while responding to perceived and alleged security threats in the south-eastern part of the country (e.g. Cizre and Silopi) in the context of the resurgence of violence between the Turkish security forces and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) following the breakdown of the peace process in 2015 and terrorist attacks perpetrated by individuals linked to the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The Committee is further concerned at the reported impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of such acts (arts. 2, 4, 12, 13 and 16).</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">12. The Committee recalls the absolute prohibition of torture contained in article 2 (2) of the Convention, which stipulates that no exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture. In this connection, the Committee draws the attention of the State party to p