Turkey’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday ruled that authorities’ failure to properly investigate allegations of torture during a police raid constituted a procedural violation and ordered that compensation be paid to the petitioner, the Mezopotamya News Agency reported.
Abdülkadir Eken had filed an individual application with the Constitutional Court under Article 17 of the constitution, which prohibits torture, regarding a 2019 police raid in a village in Diyarbakır’s Çınar district that left him injured.
In his application Eken presented medical reports confirming signs of physical assault on his body. He suffered two broken ribs during the raid and required two months of hospital treatment. He also claimed that he was insulted and thrown into mud during the raid.
However, the court dismissed Eken’s torture claims, citing insufficient evidence to confirm that the incident occurred as he described.
By a majority vote the court ordered authorities to pay 50,000 lira (around $1,160) in compensation to Eken for the procedural violation of failing to effectively investigate his allegations of torture. The ruling adds to longstanding concerns over impunity in Turkey, particularly in investigations involving human rights violations against Kurds by security forces. Human rights groups say flawed probes, decisions of non-prosecution and delays in judicial proceedings have repeatedly prevented accountability in such incidents
