Turkey: Police and Gendarmerie Abuses in Earthquake Zone

(Istanbul) – Law enforcement officials sent to police the region devastated by Turkey’s February 6, 2023 earthquakes have beaten, tortured, and otherwise ill-treated people they suspect of theft and looting, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today. One person died in custody after being tortured. In some instances, law enforcement officials have also failed to intervene to prevent individuals from violently assaulting other people they allegedly suspected of crimes.   

While there have been reported incidents of theft and looting of homes and shops in the aftermath of the earthquake, presenting law enforcement officers with an enormous security challenge, international law and Turkey’s own laws forbid the commission of torture or other ill-treatment of suspects under any circumstances. The Turkish government has long claimed to uphold a “zero tolerance for torture” policy.

“Credible reports of police, gendarmes, and military personnel subjecting people they suspect of crimes to violent and prolonged beatings and arbitrary, unofficial detention are a shocking indictment of law enforcement practices in Turkey’s earthquake region,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia Director at Human Rights Watch. “Law enforcement officials are treating the state of emergency for the natural disaster as a license to torture, otherwise ill-treat and even kill with impunity.”

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch interviewed 34 people and, where available, reviewed video footage regarding 13 cases of violence perpetrated by police, gendarmerie – police in rural areas – or soldiers deployed to the area, involving 34 male victims. Researchers heard additional accounts and saw videos of other people being severely beaten by security forces but were unable to fully corroborate these incidents. The people interviewed included 12 victims of torture or other ill-treatment, 2 people who gendarmes threatened at gun point, witnesses, and lawyers.

While in four cases documented by the organizations private individuals assisting with earthquake relief also participated in beating the victims, the main focus of the research was on abuse committed by public officials. All but three cases of torture and other ill-treatment occurred in Antakya city in Hatay province. In four cases, the victims were Syrian refugees and the attacks bore signs of an additional xenophobic motivation.

All incidents occurred in the 10 provinces covered by a state of emergency, announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on February 7 and approved by the parliament two days later. The state of emergency during a natural disaster grants the government powers such as issuing decrees ordering the use of private and public resources – land, buildings, vehicles, fuel, medical supplies, and food – in the rescue and relief effort, the use of the military to assist, control over opening hours of businesses in the affected region, and restricting entry to the region.  

One Turkish man said that a gendarme threatened him, saying “There is a state of emergency, we will kill you … We will kill you and bury you under the rubble.” One Syrian man said that a police superintendent to whom he complained when an officer punched him in the face told him “There’s a state of emergency here. Even if that officer kills you, he won’t be held accountable. No one would be able to say anything to him.”

On March 17, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch wrote to Turkey’s interior and justice ministers to share the research findings and request information about investigations into complaints of abuse lodged and video evidence circulating on social media. On March 29, the human rights directorate of the Ministry of Justice responded in the name of both the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Interior. The ministries asserted that the government of Turkey has a zero tolerance for torture and alleged that the findings Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch shared were “vague claims devoid of a factual basis.” The response did not address the human rights organizations’ findings or the questions asked about specific cases or policing practices in the earthquake region under the state of emergency. The ministries’ joint response instead focused on the scale of the earthquake, the devastation, and relief efforts.

Most victims described being apprehended by groups of police, gendarmes, or soldiers while involved in search and rescue efforts of buildings destroyed by the earthquake or while passing through neighborhoods in Antakya. In the majority of cases, victims were not taken into official custody but were immediately beaten or made to lie or kneel down while being kicked, slapped, and sworn at for prolonged periods, sometimes while handcuffed. Some were forced to confess to crimes. But in only two cases has there been any subsequent investigation pursued against the victims for alleged crimes, casting serious doubt on whether there was ever any real suspicion that they may have been acting illegally.

“My house is ruined, I live in a tent and on top of it the police beat me and held a gun to my head,” one man said. “They acted like it was the wild west.”

A 19-year-old victim said, “I lost all sense of time and it felt like the whole thing went on for an hour and a half or two. First it was the three, then a whole big group of police came and joined in, with punches, kicks.”

Victims or their families lodged official complaints about the violence they were subjected to by officials in just 6 cases out of the 13 examined, one by a man who reported that he and his brother were subject to prolonged bouts of torture in gendarmerie custody and that his brother subsequently collapsed and died in detention.   

In the other seven cases, victims said they would not lodge official complaints because they were afraid of reprisals and because they felt the chance of obtaining justice was remote. Several also said the death of family members and friends in the earthquake and the momentous upheavals in their own lives overshadowed the abuse they endured at the hands of the police and gendarmerie.

Syrians in particular were most reluctant to file an official complaint, with one woman who was working as a translator for foreign search and rescue teams saying, “Most of the gendarmes treated Syrians like thieves and were very aggressive towards them. They didn’t accept Syrians in the rescue teams and grew very angry.”

Another Syrian search and rescue volunteer who helped save several Turkish and Syrian people buried in rubble but found himself a victim of gendarmerie and crowd violence said, “I won’t lodge a complaint because I believe nothing will happen. I am afraid to go out because pictures of my car appeared on social media and there were videos circulating of us … We are afraid of being attacked again. I didn’t go to hospital or get a medical report because I was afraid of being considered a looter and we are Syrian.”

One witness described “three young men of around 20-25 who looked like workers and poor being beaten by soldiers as ‘looters,’ with the soldiers encouraging private citizens standing around to join in the beating.” Another interviewee said he saw a seemingly senior military officer address a crowd of people in Samandağ, near Antakya, from his car and say, “When you catch looters, beat them up as you like, give them their just desserts, but don’t kill them, call us.” 

Turkish officials should conduct full, prompt, and impartial criminal and administrative investigations into all reports from the earthquake region of police, gendarmerie, and military personnel torturing or otherwise ill-treating people, regardless of whether they suspect the victims of criminal activities, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said.

“The harrowing descriptions and images of wanton violence by law enforcement officials abusing their power in the midst of the worst natural disaster the country has ever faced cannot be just swept away,” said Nils Muiznieks, Amnesty International’s Europe director. “All victims, including those who are refugees, have a right to justice and reparations for the harm they have endured. The authorities must launch criminal investigations, without any delay, into all cases of torture and other ill-treatment by police, gendarmerie, and other law enforcement officials and bring those responsible to justice.”

For detailed accounts and findings, please see below.

Background

In the aftermath of the February 6 earthquakes, politicians in the region made threatening comments about incidents of theft in the affected provinces. Ümit Özdağ, leader of the small far-right Victory Party (Zafer Partisi) tweeted that police and soldiers should be given the order to shoot looters. On February 10, government spokesman, Ömer Çelik, told the media during a hospital visit to injured earthquake victims: “I want to be loud and clear, we will be extremely ruthless. We warn those who engage in looting, they should know that they will live with the shame for the rest of their lives.”  

From February 10 onwards, video footage of people wearing police, gendarme, and military clothing beating people in locations that resembled the earthquake area began to circulate on social media. Several videos came from Telegram channels with names that made reference to looting, sometimes with a derogatory implication, such as “Earthquake Looter Crooks” (Deprem Yağmacıları Şerefsizler)) or “Looter Bastards” (Yağmacı Piç Kuruları).

Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab verified details of 10 videos showing violence by people in apparent official security forces uniforms. Four of the videos clearly show official security forces beating people, sometimes while the victims’ hands were bound. All the footage, which is available online and has been widely circulated, shows official security forces openly committing violent acts and merit further investigation.

Amnesty International also used videos to confirm the location of two incidents in which people wearing vests used by emergency volunteers participated in an attack while police or gendarmerie were present. In at least four cases documented, photo and video evidence corroborated the testimony of victims and witnesses interviewed by the organizations.

Case of Ahmet and Sabri Güreşçi

Among the cases examined was the harrowing evidence of the torture by the gendarmerie of brothers Sabri Güreşçi, 37, and Ahmet Güreşçi, 27, leading to Ahmet’s death in custody. No video footage was located, although Sabri Güreşçi said that gendarmes had filmed them while beating them.

In an interview with our researchers and a February 13 official complaint to the police, Sabri Güreşçi said that on February 11, gendarmes detained him and Ahmet at their home in the Büyükburç neighborhood of the Altınözü district of Hatay, on suspicion of looting and other crimes.

As soon as the gendarmes arrived, Sabri Güreşçi and his wife said, the gendarmes fired four or five times into the air even though he and his brother showed no resistance. After the brothers were put into a vehicle, up to 15 gendarmes beat them on their heads, arms, and legs with batons, slapped and punched them, and insulted and threatened them. This continued until they arrived at Altınözü Gendarmerie Station.

In contravention of the law, the brothers were not taken to a doctor for a medical examination before being taken to the station. They were held in a place that resembled a storage room instead of a cell, where up to10 gendarmes hosed them down with water and beat them for a prolonged period, stripped them naked, squeezed their testicles, and attempted anal rape of the men with batons.

Sabri Güreşçi quoted the gendarmes as saying, “There is a state of emergency, we will kill you … We will kill you and bury you under the rubble … We’re going to say the public lynched you.” After this, Sabri said, Ahmet lost consciousness and vomited blood, upon which he was taken to hospital and pronounced dead.

A February 12 autopsy with the prosecutor present found an injury to the brain that might have caused his death and multiple bruises on his body. The Forensic Medical Institute’s full evaluation of the autopsy report to determine the exact cause of death is pending.

A subsequent medical report on Sabri Güreşçi found multiple abrasions, lesions, and long bruises on his shoulders, back, buttocks, and limbs, and a broken thumb, consistent with his account of having been beaten with batons and kicked by the gendarmes. The Altinözu Public Prosecutor’s Office initiated an investigation (file no. 2023/302), requesting a secrecy order for its duration, which a court granted.

Sabri was released from detention, with a travel ban pending the outcome of the criminal investigation against him. Three gendarmerie officers have reportedly been suspended from duty pending investigation. Sabri Güreşçi said he identified nine of the officers who took active part in torturing him and his brother, resulting in his brother’s death.

Case of Five Kurdish Men from Diyarbakır

A second very serious allegation of torture by the Adıyaman gendarmerie and police was reported to the Diyarbakır chief public prosecutor’s office on February 14 by lawyers representing R.T., İ.T., E.T., Y.A., and A.T., five young Kurdish men from Diyarbakır who had traveled in a group of seven to Adıyaman to assist with search and rescue efforts on February 11. As in some other cases, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are using initials for them to protect their privacy, at their request.

The men’s complaint to the prosecutor said that gendarmes took them from the site of a collapsed building where rescue efforts were underway without explanation. They were taken to a nearby tent full of gendarmes and police and accused them of looting or stealing. Four or five gendarmes and a police officer, along with some people in civilian clothes, beat them.

About an hour later, they were taken to a police station in a white minibus with two of the gendarmes, one of whom said: “In case one of them moves, blow their brains out.” At the police station at around 10 p.m. about 30 police officers reportedly slapped, punched, kicked, and beat the men with hands, feet, batons, and sticks. Some police officers apparently recorded the torture on their phones. Then, the police seized their phones, IDs, wallets, and clothes, leaving the men in their underwear.  

They were forced to get back on the same white bus but were not allowed to sit but rather were crammed between the seats. As the bus moved off, police officers forced them to falsely confess to looting and say, “we are thieves and sons of bitches,” which the police officers also recorded on their phones. They were beaten and subjected to insults and death threats during the journey.

At around midnight, they were forced out of the minibus at a deserted area almost 10 kilometers outside the city. In sub-zero temperatures the police poured water over the stripped men and forced them to crawl on the ground. After giving their IDs back, the police abandoned them there. One man had managed to hide a phone in his underwear and was able to call for help.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch examined the criminal complaint, spoke to R.T., who confirmed the details, reviewed video footage of the men when they were rescued that had been shared on social media, and spoke to a journalist who was one of the first to interview them at the Adıyaman location where they were taken after their ordeal. One of the men was hospitalized after the incident with a serious eye injury.

Case of R.A. and Family Members

R.A., 51, said that on February 18 police special operations officers arrived at his cousin’s house in Iskenderun, where he and his family were staying after their home had been badly damaged in the earthquake:

A special operations police officer dressed in full camouflage, mask, and a shield pointed a gun at me and told me to get down on the ground. In a few minutes, me, my son, my cousin, and his three sons were all on the ground. They beat us all so terribly. They beat us with kicks, punches, and batons. While beating us, they said, “You’re thieves. You’ve stolen.” While searching the house, they broke every single door, damaged our personal belongings. 

R.A. and his son, and his cousin A.Y., and his three sons, were handcuffed and taken to a police bus where he said the beating continued as they were transferred to the Denizciler police station in Iskenderun. R.A. said a police officer in regular uniform “told me he was from Yozgat, pulled me to a spot with no cameras and beat me separately while other officers watched him and did nothing to stop him. They broke my teeth, my rib, bruised my eyes, there are so many bruises all over my body.” The police officer’s reference to being from Yozgat can be understood as a racist reference to the fact that R.A. is Kurdish since some people from Yozgat pride themselves on being Turkish nationalists.  

R.A. said his cousin, A.Y., owns a telephone and electronics shop in Iskenderun and with his sons had removed all their products from the shop for security reasons. Another shopkeeper in the same bazaar reported to the police that electronic goods from his shop had been stolen and that A.Y. and his sons could have been the thieves since they were seen in the area. This prompted the police raid on A.Y.’s house. Police also detained three Syrian men who worked in the same bazaar and were also staying at the house. R.A. was released under a judicial control order pending the completion of the criminal investigation. 

Case of Ömer Türkmen and His Nephews

Ömer Türkmen, 37, said that, on February 24, special operations police officers attacked him and his two nephews, Nizam Doğan, 20, and Mehmet Ali Doğan, 18, outside his home in the Saraykent neighborhood of Antakya. His home had been damaged in the earthquake and the three were visiting it. One police officer ran an ID check on him, accused him of being a thief with a criminal record, and punched him on the left side of his face below his brow, knocking him down. The officer then struck him on the head with the butt of his gun, pointed the gun at him and said, “I’ll kill you here.” Other police officers also kicked him in the stomach as he was on the ground.

The police also beat his nephews, who had tried to help Türkmen. A half hour later, when a police superintendent and other officers arrived in a vehicle, Türkmen explained that this was his home. The superintendent said there was no need to prolong the issue, that the matter was closed, and although he apologized, he said to Türkmen, “If I’d been here, you’d have been in an even worse state.”

On February 25 Türkmen obtained a hospital medical report documenting his injuries and on the same day filed a formal complaint at a police tent in the garden of the Antakya district governor’s office.

Case of M.G. and C.T.  

All but 3 of the 13 cases documented involved police and gendarmes beating and otherwise ill-treating people outside formal places of custody without producing a written record of the apprehension or de facto detention of the individual.

On February 10, police badly beat M.G., and his friend C.T., both 19 and from Antakya. M.G. said they were beaten in the Armutlu neighborhood shortly after the two took a break from helping with rescue efforts at the building where C.T.’s aunt and cousin were trapped under the rubble. The two young men went into a nearby building to go to the toilet, after consulting a gendarme about where they…