CoE antiTorture watchdog CPT on Children ill-treatment, Isolation, Fires+Casualties in Turkish Jails

*Strasbourg/- Denonciations of Childrens' ill-treatments in Turkish Prisons and "severe casualties" after Fires who broke out in Jails recently, are among the questions examined by CoE's anti-Torture watchdog CPT with Ankara's authorities, revealed a Report published today by the PanEuropean Organization for Human Rights, while Hundreds of Political Prisoners are reportedly anew in Hunger Strike throughout the country to protest also for arrests and persecution of Kurdish politicians added to a prolonged total isolation of Ocalan at Imranli jail, without, however, making any impression to Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan who, replying to Press Questions earlier in Berlin, simply dismissed all that as a mere "show off", claiming that Doctors' warnings about Human Lives' risks after 60 Days of Hunger Strikes were useless since Turkish Security Services were ready to intervene by force to impose "treatments" to anyone whose Health might be endangered.

    - The latest "ad hoc Visit to Turkey" by CoE's Committee to prevent Torture and Inhuman/Degrading Treatments (CPT) "was triggered by the allegations of ill-treatment of juvenile prisoners (including Children aged 15-18, treated by Turkey as adults, contary to European standards), held at Pozantı Prison (Adana Province) which had come to light earlier in the year", its 2012 Annual Report reveales, referring to the revival of an obviously chronic problem in Turkish prisons since the notorious 1994 Scandal of rape and other torture inflicted to the "Manisa Children", aged 10 to 12, which had been arrested merely for political Graffitis written at a City's walls...
   
    For that purpose, "the CPT’s Delegation visited Ankara-Sincan
Juvenile Prison, to which all the juveniles previously held at Pozantı had been Transferred, as well as Istanbul-Maltepe Juvenile Prison and the juvenile units of Diyarbakır and Gaziantep E-type (controversial isolation) Prisons" at the end of June 2012, CoE's Report observes.

 
    + Moreover, CPT "also discussed with the Turkish authorities the Fires which had broken out in June in several Prisons in central and south-eastern Turkey, resulting in a Number of Severe Casualties", denounces the PanEuropean Organization's official document.
   
    ++ In addition,  "further discussions (which) took place in Ankara on the occasion of the Committee’s ad hoc visit to Turkey", raised the issue of "the situation of Abdullah Ocalan and other prisoners held at Imralı F-type High-Security Closed Prison", by "paying particular attention ... to the possibility in practice for these persons to receive visits from their (Family) Relatives and Lawyers", on which, already, "CPT representatives had Talks in Strasbourg with senior Turkish officials" earlier this year.   

During Previous Hunger Strikes in Turkish Jails more Deaths had been prevented on 1996 by timely publications of CoE's and EU's reactions, also in reply to "EuroFora" co-founder's questions (see f.ex. "TCWeekly" then), but, later-on, a second wave of massive Hunger Strikes by Prisoners in  Turkey on 2000-2001 against threats of Isolation in controversial tiny cells where they were afraid for more ill-treatments, didn't receive enough echo, resulting in many Deaths and even brutal Killings during Fires and violent clashes provoked by reactions to a controversial intervention by Turkish Armed Security Forces.       

  Torture and Inhuman/Degrading Treatments in Turkish Prisons were the 1st Violations condemned by ECHR right from the Start of its Judgements on Turkish cases, already in the famous "Aksoy" case of 1995, concerning a Youngster who had Lost the use of his Hand after serious ill-treatments in Jail, before being even Murdered by bullets shot at his Head after refusing to drop the 1st complaint ever lodged in Strasbourg's PanEuropean Court against Torture in Turkey. This was followed also by many other Condamnations of the Turkish Authorities by ECHR for Torture/Inhuman-Degrading Treatements, most of which, however, notoriously remain still without being implemented by Ankara's Government, particularly concerning the crucial issue of the dangerous and scandalous  Impunity of torturers. 

At the latest CoE's PanEuropean Parliamentary Assembly's  (PACE) plenary session in Strasbourg, on October 2012, the Head of Turkey's Delegation, Mesut Cavusoglou, had vainly attempted to discredit and block a New Report drafted by German MEP Christoph Strässer (and supported by CoE's Legal and Human Rights' Committee's President, Brittish Conservative ME Christopher Chope), on the crucial issue of the "Definition of Political Prisoners", which was, finally, adopted by PACE with a strong Majority after an exceptionaly "Hot" Debate and Vote which succeeded to attract the active participation of the greatest Number of MEPs among all various other Topical issues discussed during that weekly session, (Russia and even Syria included) !

Earlier, other CoE's official Documents revealed that the overall Number of Prisoners in Turkish Jails has Multiplied dramatically during recent years, (comp. previous relevant "EuroFora"s NewsReports).

 Meanwhile, in a related political development, the Leader of main Opposition Party CHP, Kilicdaroglou, called the Turkish Prime Minister ..."Tayip ASSAD Erdogan", in order to denounce the Turkish Government's decision to outlaw a Popular Demonstration organized on the National Day, and his allegedly Oppressive attitude against Democratic movements, as well as on many other Human Rights problems.

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(NDLR : "DraftNews", as already sent earlier to "EuroFora"s Subscribers/Donors. A more accurate and full Final Version may be published asap).

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