Turkey’s main opposition leader on Monday condemned what he described as the “ill-treatment” of university students detained during mass protests over the arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
“These students were badly treated — handcuffed behind their backs, held for hours without knowing where they were being taken,” said Özgür Özel, head of the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
His remarks came after he visited Silivri Prison on Sunday, where İmamoğlu is being held. While there Özel met with several jailed students and spent eight hours listening to their accounts of abuse.
“Each student was subjected to verbal insults and mistreatment,” he said, citing claims of detainees being kicked in the face or having officers exert pressure on their heads. He called their detention during the Eid holiday “psychological torture.”
Özel said the students were “in generally good health” but demanded their release, arguing that they “have no blood on their hands” and should not remain in custody for “another 18 to 20 days until a first hearing.”
He urged those affected to document and preserve evidence of any abuse for future accountability. “We have avoided targeting the police and will continue to do so, but there is no forgiveness for mistreatment,” he said.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said last week that more than 2,000 people had been detained across Turkey since March 19, with about 260 put in pretrial detention.
Lawyer Ferhat Güzel told AFP that at least 511 students had been detained in İstanbul alone, with 275 of them jailed. He said the real number was “probably much higher.”
In a joint statement Saturday, several public healthcare associations said they had documented signs of mistreatment during police interventions, in custody and in court proceedings, particularly in major cities like İstanbul, Ankara and İzmir.
© Agence France-Presse