CAT/C/66/D/846/2017 with concern the significant disparity between the high number of allegations of torture reported by non-governmental organizations and the data provided by the State party in its fourth periodic report (see CAT/C/TUR/4, paras. 273–276 and annexes 1 and 2), which suggested that not all allegations of torture were investigated during the reporting period. In paragraph 19 of the same concluding observations, the Committee highlighted its concern about recent amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure, which gave the police greater powers to detain individuals without judicial oversight during police custody. In paragraph 33, the Committee expressed regret about the lack of complete information on suicides and other sudden deaths in detention facilities during the period under review. The Committee acknowledges that the concluding observations in question were issued prior to the declaration of the state of emergency. However, it notes that reports on the situation of human rights and the prevention of torture in Turkey published since the declaration of the state of emergency indicate that the concerns raised by the Committee remain relevant. 16 8.8 In the present case, the Committee notes that the complainant claims to have been persecuted on account of his political activities, in that he was believed to be a member of the Hizmet movement, which is considered responsible for the attempted coup in July 2016. The Committee notes that, according to the report issued by OHCHR in 2018, OHCHR had access to reliable information indicating that torture and ill-treatment were used during pretrial detention as part of the Turkish authorities’ response to the attempted coup.17 In the same report, OHCHR states that it has documented the use of various forms of torture and ill-treatment in detention, including beatings, threats of sexual assault, sexual assault, electric shocks and simulated drowning. Such torture generally had the purpose of extracting confessions or coercing denunciations of other individuals as part of the investigation of acts related to the attempted coup d'état. 18 In his report on his mission to Turkey, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment notes that the use of torture was widespread in the aftermath of the attempted coup. 19 The Special Rapporteur also denounces the fact that the low number of investigations and prosecutions initiated in response to allegations of torture or ill-treatment seemed grossly disproportionate to the alleged frequency of the violations, indicating insufficient determination on the part of the Turkish authorities to take such cases forward.20 8.9 With regard to the direct impact of the state of emergency declared on 20 July 2016 on protection against torture and ill-treatment, the Committee notes that OHCHR refers to the restrictions that may be placed on communication between detainees and their lawyers, the extension of the maximum period of police custody, the closure of some independent mechanisms for the prevention of torture and the abusive use of pretrial detention. 21 Following successive extensions declared by the Turkish authorities, the state of emergency formally ended on 19 July 2018. However, a series of legislative measures have been adopted that extend the application of the restrictive measures introduced during the state of emergency, such as the possibility of prolonging police custody for up to 12 days.22 8.10 In the case of the complainant, the Committee notes that, in authorizing extradition, the Court of Cassation of Rabat made no assessment of the risk of torture that such an extradition would entail for him in view of the situation prevailing in Turkey since the attempted coup of July 2016, in particular for persons who, like the complainant, have some 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 GE.19-10782 OHCHR, “Report on the human rights situation in South-East Turkey: July 2015 to December 2016”, February 2017; ibid., “Report on the impact of the state of emergency on human rights in Turkey, including an update on the South-East: January–December 2017”, March 2018. and A/HRC/37/50/Add.1. OHCHR, “Report on the impact of the state of emergency on human rights in Turkey, including an update on the South-East: January–December 2017”, March 2018, para. 7. Ibid., para. 77. A/HRC/37/50/Add.1, para. 26. Ibid., paras. 70–73. OHCHR, “Report on the impact of the state of emergency on human rights in Turkey, including an update on the South-East: January–December 2017”, March 2018, para. 83. Human Rights Watch, “Turkey: Events of 2018”. The report is available at www.hrw.org/worldreport/2019/country-chapters/turkey. 11