Crime in Turkey

Crime in Turkey is combated by the Turkish police and other agencies.

Gangs

Over the last ten years, 24391 people have been detained by the police and of those 8602 arrested in 3012 operations against gangs. The gendermarie has likewise detained 10437 people, arrested 6269 in 771 operations. Approximately a third of these arrests took place in 2005-7.^[1]

Torture

Since the 1980s this issue has been the subject of studies by Amnesty International^[2][3], Human Rights Watch and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, who in 2004 reported "The legislative and regulatory framework necessary to combat effectively torture and other forms of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials has been put in place; the challenge now is to make sure that all of the provisions concerned are given full effect in practice." ^[4] and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan has declared that there will be "zero tolerance" of torture in Turkey.

Deaths in custody

There have been a number of rulings against Turkey in the European Court of Human Rights resulting from deaths in custody in the 1990s,^[5] a period when this was raised as an issue by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and others.^[6][7] and has been the subject of studies by Başar Çolak of Kocaeli University.^{[citation needed]}

In a August 2007 incident, Nigerian footballer Festus Okey was shot by the police while being detained in Beyoğlu police station. Apparently he had tried to wrest the gun from the officer and was shot in the ensuing struggle. The Interior Minister Beşir Atalay refused to make a statement, saying "Questions are asked everywhere, they don't all get a reply".^[8]

See also

• Law enforcement in Turkey
• Human rights in Turkey

References

1. ^ Tayyar, Şamil (2008-01-30). "‘1’ numara kim?" (in Turkish). Star Gazete. http://www.stargazete.com/gazete/yazar/-8216-1-8217-numara-kim-84746.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-07. 
2. ^ Amnesty International^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Turkey: Torture/ill-treatment \n\n | Amnesty International
4. ^ Eradicating Torture in Turkey's Police Stations: Analysis and Recommendations (A Human Rights Watch Background Briefing, September 2004)
5. ^ Info Sheet: Turkey decisions (updated) DOC
6. ^ Document Information | Amnesty International^{[dead link]}
7. ^ Human Rights Watch World Report 2001: Turkey:Human Rights Developments
8. ^ http://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=232243