CoE AntiTorture watchdog Chiefs to EuroFora:Transparency+WhistleBlowers'Protection to Fight Impunity

*Strasbourg/CoE/Angelo Marcopolo/- A really Effective Fight against the Danger of Impunity of Torturers of Persons deprived of Liberty (Detainees) needs both Transparency on State's efforts to Investigate Complaints and inflict Sanctions to those found Responsible, and Protection of WhistleBlowers, mainly with Laws imposing sufficientlty deterrent Penalties against anyone who might attempt to Intimidate Victims, Witnesses and/or Agents from denouncing eventual Abuses, said in substance to "EuroFora" the President of COE's PanEuropean WatchDog against Torture, CPT, Latif Huseynov, on the occasion of the publication, Today in Strasbourg, of "the Committee to Prevent Torture"s Annual Report for all its 47 Member Countries.

Indeed, a Table with the Numbers of Complaints for Ill-Treatments, the Number of Prosecutions, and their Outcome, is frequently asked by the CPT in all cases of Countries where it finds enough Data in order to suspect the existence of serious problems, as they said in reply to a relevant "EuroFora"s Question.

However, it wouldn't yet be practical to officially ask from ALL CoE's 47 Member States to routinely present to the CoE, each Year, such a Table containig the relevant Data, because this might give the "MisLeading" Impression that similar Tables would be "Comparable" between various Countries, while, on the contrary, it all depends on the real situation which exists, in this regard, in each Country in particular : F.ex., in some Countries People's culture make them Protest against Authorities, in general, more, or less than in others, Huseynov and Schokkenbroek pointed out.

But, already CPT's relevant case-law has become sufficiently clear on this important point, so that every CoE Member State's competent Authorities should know that such a Table would be requested by the CPT at any moment, so that they should be Ready and well-prepared to provide such Figures promptly, in case, CoE's Senior Officials added, agreeing with "EuroFora" that it's a kind of De Facto obligation in practice.

Such Tables, indeed, are often very useful in order to Reveal, on the base of Objective Data, a more or less scandalous "Impunity" of Torturers in a given Country, (the latest Example being that of Turkey, according to CPT's recently published special Report, taken together with Ankara Government's official Reply : See .......). CoE had  started to ask such Tables, already during the 1990ies, f.ex. from Russia, even during the Tragic Tchechenian Conflict against Extremist Islamic Terrorists in the Past.

Nevertheless, Moscow's Authorities had soon provided the required Data to the COE in Strasbourg, with a Table showing, insuficient then, but real efforts to investigate and punish at least some among those responsible for the most serious abuses. On the contrary, Turkish Authorities, even Today (2014-2015), apparently show a Scandalous Laxism vis a vis Torturers of Detainees, as reveals the latest such Table of Data where, in almost 2.000 cases of Complaints for ill-treatments, only 1 (one !) Suspect was condemned (simply to pay an undisclosed "Fine"), while in all other cases, proceedings ended meraly with a Few Disciplinary postponements of Promotion for some Months or (in the vast Majority of cases) by simply Droping any proceedings at all ! (See : ....).

+ Today, however, CPT found that such Problems of Impunity of Torturers risk to be even more seriously excerbated because of the Addition of also anOther Obstacle to Justice, apparently of Growing Importance : that of various attempts to "Intimidate" the Persons who dare Denounce ill-treatments of Detainees :

- Such Intimidation and/or reprisals by, or at the instigation of State Officials, against interviewed Persons who knew and wished to report Abuses against Detainees, have been found recently in almost all COE's Member States, "including" f.ex. Spain, Greece,  Hungary, Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, FUROM, Ukraine, etc, CPT criticaly observed, (pointing, however, to Facts which often date from 2010-2012 or even partly earlier, because  of the National Reporting System still in use).

=> The most Efficient Measure, among many possible, in order to succesfuly Fight against that Phenomenon, is for National Legislators to adopt Laws with sufficientylt Detterent Sanctions against anybody who might attempt to Muzzle a WhistleBlower in cases of suspected illè-treatments of Persons deprived of their Liberty, stressed to "EuroFora" CPT's President Huseynov.

In this regard, any Experienced Strasbourg observer can never forget the landmark, Tragic case of a Young Doctor in Turkey who worked also at a local Prison, and, reportedly shocked by the serious affairs of Torture inflicted by Turkish Policemen to several Persons Deprived of their Liberty, had tried to Denounce this Scandal to the competent Authorities of his Country : The result was for him to be Brutaly Killed by Shots of Bullets at his Chest and Head, near his place of Work, while his Wife (a Widow, now, with Orphan Children) was even Threatened and Harassed in attempts to Intimidate her and obliged her to Drop her Application to ECHR in Strasbourg for the Murder of her Husband. Finally, the ECHR  has strongly Condemned Ankara's Authorities  for Failing to do any Efficient Investigation in this sordid affair, but we don't really know, not even Today, a Decade later, if and when those Responsible for that Murder of the Heroic Turkish WhistleBlower were Found and Punished, or not.... Compared to such Brutalities, obviously, the much more Lenient, comparatively (even if, also Dangerous in real Practice) eventual Threats about the Career, etc. of other WistleBlowers, in other Countries, rightfuly denounced Today by the CPT, inevitably look as a Different matter...

+ Neverthess, the need for such Safeguards against Ill-Treatment of Persons deprived of Liberty becomes even more obvious when one considers also the Problems raised Today in oparticular vis a vis Fragile People such as "Juveniles" held in Police Custody, for whom CPT's New Annual Report makes a series of practical Recommendations in order to Upgrade their Safety.

But its on February 2015 that the CoE is due to Publish its latest Figures on Detainees throughout all the European Continent and beyond, which will reveal  also the Number of Juveniles held today, after another, relevant Committee of Experts finalizes its work, as COE's Press Officer Jaime Rodriguez told "EuroFora".