Urgent Action: Investigate Torture Claims in Diyarbakir Prison (Turkey: UA 174.20)

On 1 December, Mehmet Sıddık Meşe was allegedly subjected to a severe beating by guards in a prison in the Turkish city of Dıyarbakır. He was denied access to urgent medical care and to examination by medical forensic staff. On 9 December, the prosecutor decided not to prosecute the suspected perpetrators based on the prison doctor’s report. Mehmet Sıddık Meşe requires access to adequate medical care and a prompt, independent and impartial investigation into the allegations of torture and other ill-treatment must be launched.

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1. Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
2. Click here to let us know the actions you took on Urgent Action 174.20. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help.

CONTACT INFORMATION

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SAMPLE LETTER Dear Minister, I am writing to you regarding the serious allegations of torture and other ill-treatment that Mehmet Sıddık Meşe was subjected to on 1 December 2020. Mehmet Sıddık Meşe is currently held on remand in Diyarbakir T Type prison No. 3 on fraud charges. According to the testimony he provided to his lawyer, on the morning of 1 December, he was taken from the prison dormitory by four prison guards into a separate area dubbed the ‘Aquarium’ where he was beaten with wooden batons under his feet (bastinado – falaka) as well as all over his face and body by at least four guards for about 40 minutes. Mehmet Sıddık Meşe’s lawyer saw him on 2 December and could verify that his face was completely bruised and swollen, both his eyes were blood shot and his feet were entirely bruised. Mehmet Sıddık Meşe complained about dizziness and pain on his feet and back. He was not taken into a hospital for an independent forensic medical examination and the prison doctor’s examination report concluded that he had not been beaten. An investigation following a criminal complaint by his lawyer was eventually launched on 3 December. The prosecutor responsible for prisons interviewed Mehmet Sıddık Meşe on 8 December via video conference in the absence of his lawyer despite the request of the lawyer to be present. According to his lawyer, the camera footage of the prison in the investigation file was incomplete, only displaying a two-minute period. The prison prosecutor refused to process the request made as part of their criminal complaint to take Mehmet Sıddık Meşe to a hospital for examination in line with the Istanbul Protocol, which sets out guidelines for effective legal and medical investigations. The prison prosecutor made a decision not to prosecute on 9 December on the grounds of lack of evidence. I call on you to ensure that Mehmet Sıddık Meşe has urgent access to adequate medical care and is examined by independent forensic medical staff; and that a new prompt, independent and impartial investigation into the allegations of torture and ill-treatment is launched and all those responsible are brought to justice in fair trials. Yours sincerely, [YOUR NAME] ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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