Levent Kenneth/Stockholm
A Turkish judge has cited a case involving a former police officer accused of abusing and abusing a high-ranking general in an Ankara detention center in 2016, citing a case involving a former police officer accused of abusing and abusing a high-ranking general in an Ankara detention center, and a number of websites, including the Turkish version of Nordic Monitor’s Twitter account, He ordered the site and tweets to be blocked.
On October 31, 2022, Elif Uzun Šmelkan, who currently works for the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, filed a petition with Ankara’s Third High Criminal Court demanding the censorship of 173 URLs on the grounds of privacy violations. She also requested that the content be removed from her search engine.
Elif Uzun Shmelkan started wearing scarves in 2023.
On the same day, Judge Mustafa Gürbüz handed down a verdict in favor of the plaintiff (decision number 2023/12221), acknowledging that the plaintiff’s rights had been violated. Interestingly, the Nordic Monitor tweet that was blocked by the court was dated August 5, 2020 and had nothing to do with Schmerkan. It included excerpts from the testimony of police officers detained after the controversial 2016 coup attempt.
Sumerkan was identified in 2016 as one of the key figures involved in the brutal torture of detainees in Ankara’s unofficial detention sites, according to multiple victims who testified in court. At the time, she was deputy chief of the Ankara Police Anti-Terrorism Unit. However, she was later honored by the government and appointed Director-General of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Court judgment:
Ankara 3rd Peace Criminal Judge 2023-12221 Others (1)
Schmelkan was accused of physically assaulting General Akun Ozturk, a senior member of the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) and former commander of the Air Force. Witnesses who experienced torture and ill-treatment in her custody testified that police officers had to intervene to stop her from physically assaulting the general.
🔵Kang Donduran Ifadelar (2. Borum)
-İŞKENCECİDEN AKIN ÖZTÜRK’E: SEN DAHA ÖLMEDİN Mİ O. ÇOCUĞU!
Nordic Monitor’ün ulaştığı ifadelerde Ankara gözaltı merkezlerinde işkence gören askerler beraber kaldıkları or general Akın Öztürk’ün uğradığı ağır işkencelerden de bahsediyor. pic.twitter.com/9PjH7rdZfI
— Nordic Monitor Türkçe (@NordicMonitorTR) August 5, 2020
Evidence subsequently emerged that Mr. Oztürk was not involved in the coup attempt and was falsely labeled as a rebel leader by Turkish intelligence agency MİT. In fact, during the events of the night of the coup, he was at his daughter’s residence, a few kilometers from the Akhundu air base, which is said to be the stronghold of the Pushists. Ms. Schmerkan’s name and her signature appeared on an official document in 2016 that gave her the authority to detain her suspect and escort him to her detention center.
Another Nordic Monitor article that angered Shmercan was about Mustafa Shmercan, the husband of a police chief wanted by US authorities for arrest on multiple criminal charges. Nordic Monitor had previously published a report alleging that Mustafa Shmercan had been involved in covert operations with Turkish intelligence in Libya before being recruited into President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s security force. Moreover, he was identified as the husband of Elih Uzun Shmercan, who faced accusations of torture.
However, unlike many Turkish government officials, Mustafa Šmercan did not dispute the allegations against him or try to censor the Nordic Monitor article.
It is well documented that in 2016 police officers and MİT personnel engaged in widespread torture and abuse in unofficial detention centers. Government-owned sports halls and police facilities are used for both verbal and physical torture, including threats of violence, rape, and beatings, as well as inhumane acts such as strapping and dousing victims with ice water. It was done.
Amnesty International has previously called for independent monitors to be granted immediate access to detainees held in various facilities including police headquarters, sports centers and courthouses after the coup attempt. They had collected credible evidence that detainees were subjected to severe beatings and torture, including sexual assault, in official and unofficial detention centers in Turkey in 2016.
In 2021, Elif Uzun Sümercan made a similar request to block access to 88 URLs, which was also granted by the court.
Elif Uzun Sümercan (second from left) is currently Deputy Director-General of the Library and Publishing Department at the Ministry of Culture.
Turkish torturers were given protection by a government decree signed by President Erdoğan. Decree Law No. 667 was promulgated on his July 23, 2016, granting broad immunity to law enforcement officials involved in the coup investigation. Its purpose was to prevent victims from filing complaints related to torture, mistreatment, and abuse against these officials. Article 9 of the Decree Law states that individuals who take decisions and perform their duties within the scope of this law shall not be held legally, administratively, financially, or criminally responsible. Human rights groups criticized the decree as violating international agreements such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the European Convention on Human Rights, to which Turkey is a party.
To date, no legal action has been taken against those responsible for torturing detainees in informal detention sites, despite multiple complaints filed by victims and their legal representatives.
In 2016, a delegation from the European Commission against Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), an affiliate of the Council of Europe, visited Turkey. During the visit from August 28 to September 6, they documented the victims’ statements. Their visit follows allegations first raised by Amnesty International that detainees in Turkey are subjected to physical abuse, torture and even sexual assault in both official and unofficial detention centers across the country. This is what followed.
However, the details of the CPT report have not been made public because Turkey objected to its publication in 2016, and that objection continues. CPT Chairman Mykola Gnatowski said in 2017 that although he wanted to discuss the report’s findings, he was unable to comment due to a decision by the Turkish government.
