The organization heard multiple reports of detainees being held in
unofficial locations such as sports centres and a stable. Some
detainees, including at least three judges, were held in the corridors
of courthouses.
All of the interviewees wished to remain anonymous for security
reasons. The organization heard extremely alarming accounts of torture
and other ill-treatment of detainees, particularly at the Ankara Police
Headquarters sports hall, Ankara Başkent sports hall and the riding club
stables there.
According to these accounts, police held detainees in stress
positions, denied them food, water and medical treatment, verbally
abused and threatened them and subjected them to beatings and torture,
including rape and sexual assault.
Two lawyers in Ankara working on behalf of detainees told Amnesty
International that detainees said they witnessed senior military
officers in detention being raped with a truncheon or finger by police
officers.
A person on duty at the Ankara Police Headquarters sports hall saw a
detainee with severe wounds consistent with having been beaten,
including a large swelling on his head. The detainee could not stand up
or focus his eyes and he eventually lost consciousness. While in some
cases detainees were afforded limited medical assistance, police refused
to allow this detainee essential medical treatment despite his severe
injuries. The interviewee heard one police doctor on duty say: “Let him
die. We will say he came to us dead.”
The same interviewee said 650-800 male soldiers were being held in
the Ankara police headquarters sports hall. At least 300 of the
detainees showed signs of having been beaten. Some detainees had visible
bruises, cuts, or broken bones. Around 40 were so badly injured they
could not walk. Two were unable to stand. One woman who was also
detained in a separate facility there had bruising on her face and
torso.
The interviewee also heard police officers make statements indicating
that they were responsible for the beatings, and that detainees were
being beaten so that “they would talk”.
In general, it appears that the worst treatment in detention was reserved for higher-ranking military officers.
Many of the detainees in the sports hall and other facilities were
handcuffed behind their backs with plastic zip-ties and forced to kneel
for hours. Interviewees reported that zip-ties were often fastened too
tight and left wounds on the arms of detainees. In some cases detainees
were also blindfolded throughout their detention.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/07/turkey-independent-monitors-must-be-allowed-to-access-detainees-amid-torture-allegations/
"A top official of the Syrian opposition said he’s convinced Russia’s
intent is use the methods it deployed to destroy Grozny. The capital of
the Chechen Republic was the scene of bloody combat in 1994-95, and then
again in 1999-2000, early in Putin’s first presidency. At that point
leaflets were dropped offering people safe passage out of the city, and
after a brief pause the real devastation began. In 2003, the United
Nations reportedly called Grozny “the most destroyed city on earth.” The
war was over, and on Putin’s terms."
