Over 27,400 individuals subjected to torture during 18 years of AKP rule in Turkey, report reveals
Over 27,400 individuals were subjected to torture during 18 years of AKP rule in Turkey, according to a report prepared by CHP deputy Sezgin Tanrıkulu regarding mistreatment in the country. A total of 86 people died as a result of torture, the report said.
Duvar English
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Sezgin Tanrıkulu has prepared a report on mistreatment in Turkey, revealing how torture became a widespread and systematic practice under the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
According to the report encompassing the years between 2002 and 2020, some 27,493 individuals were subjected to torture in 18 years and 86 people died as a result of torture.
In 2002, 988 instances of torture were reported, while the number dramatically rose to 3,534 in 2020. The highest cases of torture were reported in 2015 with 5,671 instances.
The report also said that forced disappearances that were frequent in Turkey in the 1990s started to be reported once again during the state of emergency that was declared following the July 15, 2016 failed coup attempt.
Some 24 of those who disappeared during the operations launched against the movement of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, the believed mastermind of the coup bid, between 2016 and 2020 were found later on. They were revealed to have been subjected to torture, the report said.