Turkish police, nightwatchmen involved in torture, ill-treatment

Turkish police and night watchmen have committed
serious abuses against at least fourteen people in six incidents in the
southeastern province of Diyarbakır and in Istanbul in the last two months,
Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday.
Police officers set police dogs on people in their
homes, leaving them with bite marks on their limbs, and beat them with a cable
and fists while nightwatchmen beat suspects and sprayed teargas into their
face, HRW said.
In all cases, the authorities have claimed that
those alleging police ill-treatment violently resisted arrest and the security
forces without providing any evidence, it said.
“The immediate knee-jerk denial of police wrongdoing
when faced with reports of police violence, torture, and ill-treatment –
specifically in recent incidents in Diyarbakır – is sadly familiar, but not
acceptable,” Tom Porteous, deputy programme director at HRW, said.
“Turkish authorities should immediately investigate
these credible allegations of serious abuse and hold those responsible
accountable,” he said.