An important step in the struggle against torture
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 14, 2009 00:00
The struggle to rein in torturers and bring conditions in Turkish interrogation rooms in line with international norms is a long and difficult one. And so we salute the Council of State for its order revealed yesterday to award a victim of torture 250,000 Turkish Liras and to collect that sum from the perpetrators.
Torture is a particularly pernicious crime. It occurs, generally, far outside the public sphere. Its practitioners, generally, know what they are doing and how to cover the trail of evidence. Complicity with those who would oversee its eradication is often the case. The fact of the matter is that Turkey is signatory to virtually all international treaties and conventions on torture. The goodwill of many political leaders and senior law enforcement officials is beyond doubt.
But there are many factors at play. Such abstractions as family violence, all too common in Turkey, play a role. Those who have been abused in one context are often the most likely to become abusers in another context. International examples become a factor as well. If the United States is using techniques like "waterboarding," or "territorial rendition" or skirting the Geneva Convention with impunity, making the case for civil treatment of criminal suspects in a dank compound in rural Turkey becomes all the more challenging. We salute the fact that just in recent days, the new CIA Director Leon Panetta has issued an unambiguous directive banning such practices. This has large meaning well beyond the facilities in Panetta’s direct control.
All too often, compliance only occurs when would-be torturers are being watched. Distance them from the mechanisms that can prove culpability and old habits die hard. Education, training, and encouragement of a set of contemporary values are at the core of the solution.
We know that such steps have been taken in earnest by the Interior Ministry, by the police training academies and by others. We applaud and support such efforts. The pace of reform that we have witnessed in recent years must quicken.
And so we are heartened by the story of a girl tortured in 2002 as part of an investigation into the disappearance of her college roommate. The investigation of her torture allegations was a laborious affair, going through several tribunals and appeal processes before justice was finally obtained. Partial compensation was ordered in 2005. The full amount of court-ordered compensation, as the Daily News reported yesterday, was not approved until last month. But it was. And most importantly, in addition to other punishment, the sum is to be paid by the victim’s persecutors.
This is just one example of the many steps that must be taken to eradicate torture from Turkish society. But it is one that sends a powerful message throughout the justice system.
But there are many factors at play. Such abstractions as family violence, all too common in Turkey, play a role. Those who have been abused in one context are often the most likely to become abusers in another context. International examples become a factor as well. If the United States is using techniques like "waterboarding," or "territorial rendition" or skirting the Geneva Convention with impunity, making the case for civil treatment of criminal suspects in a dank compound in rural Turkey becomes all the more challenging. We salute the fact that just in recent days, the new CIA Director Leon Panetta has issued an unambiguous directive banning such practices. This has large meaning well beyond the facilities in Panetta’s direct control.
All too often, compliance only occurs when would-be torturers are being watched. Distance them from the mechanisms that can prove culpability and old habits die hard. Education, training, and encouragement of a set of contemporary values are at the core of the solution.
We know that such steps have been taken in earnest by the Interior Ministry, by the police training academies and by others. We applaud and support such efforts. The pace of reform that we have witnessed in recent years must quicken.
And so we are heartened by the story of a girl tortured in 2002 as part of an investigation into the disappearance of her college roommate. The investigation of her torture allegations was a laborious affair, going through several tribunals and appeal processes before justice was finally obtained. Partial compensation was ordered in 2005. The full amount of court-ordered compensation, as the Daily News reported yesterday, was not approved until last month. But it was. And most importantly, in addition to other punishment, the sum is to be paid by the victim’s persecutors.
This is just one example of the many steps that must be taken to eradicate torture from Turkish society. But it is one that sends a powerful message throughout the justice system.