ANKARA - IHD Co- Chair Öztürk Türkdoğan said 'I think he is living in another country' for Minister of Interrior Süleyman Soyluwho said the application about maltreatment have been decreasing.
Minister of Interrior Süleyman Soylu claimed that the number of applications regarding maltreatment police and soldiers involved have been decreasing in the 'Training of Trainers of the Law Enforcement Oversight Commission' program opening on December 4 in Ankara. Soylu stating that there were a total of 70 applications for the maltreatment of police and soldiers in 2017, said the number decreased to 31 in 2018.
Speaking to the Mesopotamia Agency (MA), Human Rights Association (İHD) Co-Chair Öztürk Türkdoğan stated that the Ministry of Justice's 2018 official statistics, as well as the number of investigations and cases initiated by prosecutors, were far above the figures expressed by Soylu.
Türkdoğan stating that Soylu is only talking about the applications conveyed to him, said: "We advise the people applying to us to apply to Law Enforcement Supervision Commission too. It was only established on July 25 and the numbers will increase in time when people are aware of the commission."
THEY ARE TRYING TO MAKE TORTURE INVISIBLE
Türkdoğan also emphasized that Soylu knowingly uses the word 'maltreatment' instead of 'torture' and he is trying to make torture be invisible. Türkdoğan said not using the word does not make torture dissappear. Türkdoğan said: "They want to make torture invisible. Even this shows that they are not actually well-intentioned. If the problem of torture continues in a country, it can only be fought by talking about it, not pretending it doesn't exist. On the contrary, you will cause torture practices to continue."
Türkdoğan said that the main attitude to be taken by the Ministry of Interior is to remind that torture and ill-treatment are absolutely prohibited and said: "The minister should say that we will effectively fight the torturers. Therefore, the minister must investigate the tortures and provide the public with accurate information. But if he says the numbers have decreased then this minister must not be living in the same country where we live. I think Minister Soylu lives in another country. We are talking about a country where all demonstrations are banned. What do we call the police battering a handful of people trying to say something on the street if not maltreatment?"