A university student said she was subjected to a strip-search while in custody, according to the court records for the first hearing of what is known as the “High School Girls Case.”
According to the Kronos news website, a university student identified as S.N.B. said she was stripped down to her underwear at the police station. Upon admission to prison, she was strip-searched, left completely naked without being provided a gown.
S.N.B’s testimony was revealed as part of the court records for the initial hearing held September 23-27 at the Istanbul 24th High Criminal Court.
S.N.B. told the judge, “I was subjected to degrading treatment. It was deeply humiliating and inhumane. I request that this be entered into the court records.”
The case stems from a May 7 police operation targeting 41 individuals, including 14 high school students aged 13 to 17 who were detained on accusations of terrorism due to their alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement, inspired by late Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, since the corruption investigations of December 17-25, 2013, which implicated then-prime minister Erdoğan, his family members and his inner circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began to target its members. He intensified the crackdown on the movement following an abortive putsch that he accused Gülen of masterminding. Gülen and the movement strongly deny involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
The indictment in the case of the young girls cited routine activities such as attending study groups, going to the movies, using food delivery services and praying together as evidence of terrorist involvement. The trial has attracted significant criticism for its treatment of minors and the broad application of anti-terrorism laws.
Speaking during the 81st EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee debate that focused on the state of Turkey’s EU accession negotiations, freedom of speech and the rule of law, Nacho Sánchez Amor, the European Parliament’s rapporteur on Turkey, sharply criticized the Turkish government for prosecuting 14-year-old girls on terrorism charges.
“You are prosecuting girls of 14 years on terrorism charges,” Sánchez Amor said. “And they are being asked by the judge, why did you go to study with your neighbor?”
Human rights organizations, including the Italian Federation for Human Rights (FIDU), have expressed concerns over the treatment of these young girls and the judicial practices employed. A report by the FIDU highlights violations of legal procedures and accuses the Turkish judiciary of systematic bias and lack of impartiality.
