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Police officers watch removal of rubble from buildings that collapsed in the February 6 earthquakes, Hatay, Turkey, March 23, 2023. © Omer Urer via Getty Images |
“We will kill you and bury you under the rubble.”
That’s how one Turkish man, in a rural region devastated by the recent earthquakes, was threatened by a law enforcement official.
In the aftermath of the February 6 earthquakes, whose death toll topped 45,000 in Turkey, reports of theft and looting from homes and shops in the region began circulating. Turkish politicians condemned the crimes, and law enforcement was sent to police the region. But instead of protecting people, a new report from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International documents how police and other law enforcement officials there beat, tortured, and otherwise ill-treated people they suspected of theft and looting.
It's true police in the earthquake region face a huge security challenge. But that doesn’t mean officials can treat the state of emergency there as a license to torture and even kill.
A few of the victims interviewed by HRW were Syrian refugees and the attacks bore signs of an additional racist motivation.
One Syrian man complained to a police superintendent about an officer who punched him in the face. “There’s a state of emergency here,” the superintendent told him. “Even if that officer kills you, he won’t be held accountable. No one would be able to say anything to him.”
Most victims described being apprehended by groups of police, gendarmes (police in rural areas), or soldiers while involved in search and rescue efforts of buildings destroyed by the earthquake or while passing through neighborhoods in the area. In most cases, instead of being taken into official custody, victims were beaten or made to lie or kneel while being kicked, slapped, and sworn at for prolonged periods, sometimes while handcuffed. Some were forced to confess to crimes.
One person died in custody after being tortured.
The Turkish government claims to uphold a “zero tolerance for torture” policy. International law and Turkey’s own laws also forbid it under any circumstances. The government should live up to its word and ensure justice for victims already recovering from disaster.
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