A Turkish lawyer on Saturday said his client, who was detained last week as part of an investigation into the faith-based Gülen movement, was subjected to torture during his detention in Ankara, the Bold Medya news website reported.
The detainee, identified only by the initials N.C., told Rıdvan Çobanoğlu, a lawyer from the Ankara Bar Association, that seven policemen interrogated him at 2 a.m., beating and threatening him with sexual abuse.
N.C. also revealed the name of a police officer, Abdulkadir Yılmaztürk, who was personally involved in the torture.
After speaking with his client, Çobanoğlu brought officials from the Ankara Bar Association to the detention center in an effort to convince staff to stop torture during interrogations, he told Bold Medya, but they were not allowed to enter the facility
Çobanoğlu said N.C. was in agony and had difficulty walking normally when they met, adding that his client was tortured again after telling him what had happened during interrogations.
N.C. was among 77 individuals who were taken into custody after the issuance of detention warrants by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office over alleged Gülen links.
Turkey accuses the Gülen movement of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt, although it strongly denies any involvement.
In May the Ankara Bar Association had interviewed former diplomats who were subjected to torture under detention, exposing the gruesome details.
Since the failed coup more than 261,000 people have been detained over alleged Gülen links, and some 30,000 people are still in jail on the same allegations.