 carried out an ad hoc visit to Turkey after hundreds were detained during nationwide protests over the arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu last month, the TR724 news website reported on Tuesday.){kind=link}
The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) carried out an ad hoc visit to Turkey after hundreds were detained during nationwide protests over the arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu last month, the TR724 news website reported on Tuesday.
There has been widespread criticism over the detention and alleged mistreatment of hundreds of protestors who took to the streets following the March 19 detention of İmamoğlu and his subsequent arrest. The mayor’s arrest on accusations of corruption triggered large-scale demonstrations in İstanbul and across the country, with thousands rallying against what opposition leaders have called a politically motivated crackdown.
According to a written statement released on the committee’s website on Monday, the main objective of the April 7–11 visit was to examine the treatment and safeguards afforded to individuals deprived of their liberty by police, particularly in the context of the public demonstrations held since March 19.
The delegation, led by CPT President Alan Mitchell and including Nico Hirsch, Therese Rytter and Juan Carlos da Silva Ochoa, visited major police detention facilities in Ankara and İstanbul. The group also conducted targeted visits to the Metris, Marmara and Sincan prison campuses in the İstanbul and Ankara metropolitan areas, primarily to interview individuals recently put in pretrial detention.
During its visit the delegation had consultations with Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç and Deputy Interior Minister Münir Karaloğlu, also meeting with senior prison administration and interior ministry officials. Their discussions focused on recent security practices, detention procedures and prison conditions.
There were widespread allegations that detainees — including students, journalists and municipal officials — had been subjected to abuse, poor conditions and unlawful strip-searches, claims denied by the country’s justice minister.
The delegation, which shared its preliminary findings with Turkish authorities at the end of the visit, is expected to release its final report in the coming months. The report will assess how closely Turkey’s treatment of individuals deprived of their liberty aligns with international human rights standards.
Nearly 2,000 people, including university students, were detained during Turkey’s most widespread unrest in more than a decade, with in excess of 270 formally arrested. Most of those arrested were have been released from pretrial detention over the past days.
A statement from the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office revealed last week that criminal charges have been filed against 819 people as part of 20 investigations launched in response to the protests over İmamoğlu’s arrest.
They are charged with violating Turkey’s law on public meetings and demonstrations.
Many say the arrest of İmamoğlu is politically motivated to sideline the mayor ahead of the next presidential election slated for 2028.
Human rights groups, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), have repeatedly sounded the alarm over Turkey’s deteriorating human rights record. Hundreds of torture complaints have been filed in recent years, while victims and their lawyers say investigations are rarely conducted and perpetrators are almost never prosecuted.