Turkey stresses import of European watchdog reports

Turkey values the Council of Europe’s independent monitoring mechanisms and its cooperation with them, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

The assertion was part of a statement announcing the release of reports by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) on its 2017 and 2019 visits to Turkey.

The ministry stressed that the reports, available on the CPT website, were released with Ankara’s authorization and include the Turkish government’s responses.

“Turkey attaches importance to the independent monitoring mechanisms of the Council of Europe and to cooperation with these mechanisms in accordance with the conventions to which it is a party,” read the statement.

“The publication of the said CPT reports along with our Government’s responses reflect this understanding.”

According to the CPT, the purpose of its 7th periodic visit in May 2017 and an ad hoc tour in May 2019 was “to examine the treatment and conditions of detention of persons detained by the police/gendarmerie.”

“To this end, the CPT’s delegation interviewed hundreds of persons who were or had recently been held in police custody, including on suspicion of terrorism-related offences, in the Ankara, Diyarbakir and Istanbul areas,” read a statement on the CPT website.