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UNCLAS ISTANBUL 000532 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OSCE PHUM PREL TU PGOV
SUBJECT: TURKISH JUSTICE MINISTER ISSUES UNPRECEDENTED 
APOLOGY FOR TORTURE 
 
¶1. (U) Summary and comment: Turkish Minister of Justice 
Mehmet Ali Sahin publicly apologized October 15 for the death 
of a detainee caused by the disproportionate use of force. 
Human rights contacts welcomed the unprecedented step by a 
public official and hope the statement will lead to concrete 
improvements in an area where Turkey has made great strides 
in the past decade but has backslid recently.  Sahin's 
recognition was an important acknowledgement that much work 
still needs to be done to modernize Turkey's justice system 
and is just the sort of plea needed to spur action at a time 
when Turkey needs to jump-start a stalled reform process. 
Given the positive domestic reaction, the odds seem improved 
that the GOT will follow through with its words by taking 
significant actions to reduce the cases of torture in the 
future. End Summary and Comment. 
 
Detainee Allegedly Killed by Disproportionate Use of Force 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶2. (U) On September 28, Istanbul police in Istinye detained 
Engin Ceber, Ozgur Karakaya, Aysu Baykal, and Cihan Gun for 
disturbing the peace by distributing copies of the leftist 
weekly "Yuruyus" (March). The men were distributing the paper 
in protest of the 2007 police shooting and subsequent 
paralysis of Ferhat Gercek, another activist who was 
distributing the same paper at the time of the shooting. 
Police initially detained the four suspects at Istanbul's 
Istinye Police Station and later transferred them to 
Istanbul's Metris Prison. That week, the defendants' attorney 
filed a criminal complaint against Istinye Police Station 
officers alleging they had beaten the defendants.  On October 
6, Ceber was transferred from the Metris Prison to a hospital 
for treatment of serious injuries he allegedly sustained 
during the police beatings.  Ceber died of a brain hemorrhage 
on October 11. Justice Ministry inspectors confirmed Ceber 
was tortured and suspended 19 prison personnel for their 
suspected involvement in the abuse. 
 
Justice Minister Apologizes 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) On October 13, Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin 
privately apologized to the family of Engin Ceber.  Speaking 
to reporters later, Sahin said, "I called Ceber's father and 
commiserated.  He has just one expectation - that those 
responsible should be judged immediately and penalized with 
the most severe punishments." Sahin said he had assigned two 
officers to investigate the incident and that, "If this is 
proven, those responsible will be sentenced to life 
imprisonment."  Emphasizing the importance of education for 
penal officers in eliminating the problem, Sahin said the 
government will increase the training of penal officers to 
prevent torture in the future.  "I do not think that a new 
legal framework is necessary, but the staff is suffering from 
a lack of education," he said. 
 
Human Rights Groups Welcome GOT Acknowledgement of Torture 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Human rights organizations and government offices 
have documented a rise in cases of torture during the past 
two years. According to an October 2008 report by the Prime 
Ministry's Human Rights Commission, the level of torture and 
mistreatment in the first half of 2008 surpassed that in the 
first half of 2007.  The Presidency found that 178 people 
reported cruel treatment and 26 reported torture in the first 
six months of 2008, compared to 79 reports of mistreatment 
and 17 reports of torture during the first half of 2007.  The 
Human Rights Foundation in Turkey reports 29 detainee deaths 
this year, including the death of Ceber.  HRF Izmir Chairman 
Coskun Usterci told us he attributes the rise to amendment to 
the Law of the Powers and Duties of the Police that does not 
clearly delineate appropriate situations to use lethal force. 
 Usterci also noted that the HRF has documented a disturbing 
trend where police try to avoid legal responsibility for 
beatings by taking detainees to rural fields, beating them, 
and then during booking claim the suspects had resisted 
arrest.  Such a tactic is one way police are circumventing 
the increased EU scrutiny on police methods, according to 
Usterci. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) HR contacts told us MOJ Sahin's recognition of 
torture sent an important message at a time Turkey has been 
backsliding on the issue.  According to Amnesty International 
Izmir Chair Tanel Kilic, "this is a first in Turkish 
political history that the justice minister directly 
apologized in the name of the State and his government."  The 
Human Rights Agenda Association's Izmir Chair Orcun Ulusoy 
 
told us he hopes the unprecedented action would lead to 
concrete action by state officials to prevent such 
"systematic violence - from the police station to the prison" 
in the future. 
 
¶6.  (U) This is a joint ConGen Istanbul-Embassy Ankara cable. 
WIENER