The detainees who have reportedly been tortured in Ankara turned out to be the MIT employees. H.Ç.’s lawyer told about her observations in the Police Department of Ankara.
CEVHERİ GÜVEN
Twenty-seven people who were detained in the pitch-black morning of December the 18th in Ankara by the Prosecution Office, were identified as former employees of the Prime Ministry. However, it turned out that they were the purged personnel from the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and that they were subjected to intense pressure during the detention process.
According to information provided by the lawyers of detainees in Ankara Anti-Terror Branch, the first day of detention was full of threats, insults, and psychological torture.
The wife of a former MIT employee, H.Ç., who is also a lawyer, provided the information that those who were in custody were ‘interrogated’ at 22.30 on the first day. They were threatened with rape and sexual assault by showing bottles lined up side by side.
Detainee in panic
H.Ç.’s wife said that she visited her husband twice, and her first visit was yesterday. She stated that everything appears to be normal yesterday, nevertheless after the interrogation during the night, she saw that her husband was in a panic today:
After being expelled, my husband had neither undergone any investigation, nor prosecution. When I met him, he was in fear and scared. Ordinarily, the lawyer interview rooms are closed and no cameras are fixed.
But interestingly it was not the same in the Ankara Anti-Terror Branch. There were full of glasses on both sides of the room. The outside sound was directly coming inside, and vice versa. My couple started to explain by saying, “This place is not good.” At 22.30 in the evening yesterday, they took seven other people, who were in the same situation as him, for ‘interview.’ They took him somewhere else in Anti-Terror Branch. They had a half-hour ‘interview.’ They insulted and threatened the entire half-hour meeting. They threatened them over their wives, and as this part hurt him very much, he did not give too many details. They threatened and insulted him over the families or mothers.
They said several things like, “Even if we leave you here, we’ll pick you up again. We don’t need a warrant or a custody order to arrest you”.
“Bottles are prepared for you”
Afterward, they showed the bottles put side by side and threatened by saying, “Look, we greased this bottle for you. We say just ‘hi’ to you today; you guess what we’re going to do tomorrow.” They shoved him relentlessly. At present, he has not been beaten and subjected to violence. There is psychological torture, and they are threatened by saying, ‘Be smart, talk!!!’ and implying that torture will begin tomorrow by saying ‘See you again tomorrow!!!’.” I’m worried about what can be done during tonight’s interrogation. Previously, the same thing happened to the former employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ankara Bar Association recorded the heavy torture and reported it.
Ankara Bar Associaton launches an investigation
The lawyers informed the Ankara Bar Association about their clients’ experiences, and the Human Rights Board of the Bar Association was authorized to meet with detainees.
It was mentioned that detained persons are kept in Ankara Anti-Terrorism Branch’s Campus, which is on the way to Eskisehir city.
Eighteen in custody
On the morning of December 18, 27 former Prime Minister employees were announced to be issued a custody order. It was learned that 27 people were National Intelligence Organization personnel, not Prime Ministry. Eighteen people out of 27 could be taken into custody, and they all were purged during the state of emergency from MIT. Among them are employees working as intelligence staff and supporting staff. It is stated that detentions were undertaken within the scope of the Hizmet investigations.
The 34th High Criminal Court was established in Ankara for the prosecution of MIT employees. The establishment of a special court for judging only one institution’s staff drew criticism of the lawyers. Six people who were abducted in February 2019 and who were handed over to the police after six months of immense torture began to be tried in this court.