- 37 - a prisoner charged with smuggling examined at Adana Prison, who displayed haematomas on the soles of his feet and a series of vertical violet stripes (10 cm long/2 cm wide) across the upper part of his back, consistent with his allegation that he had recently been subjected to falaka and beaten on the back with a truncheon while in police custody. 19. Comparable cases in Ankara and Diyarbakır could also have been described, including of persons who had been held by the Anti-Terror Departments of the Ankara and Diyarbakır Police (in particular, cases of motor paralysis of the arms and severe sensory loss consistent with allegations of suspension). However, the CPT shall instead draw attention to highly incriminating material evidence found in police establishments in those cities. 20. Acting in each case on concordant information independently received from several different sources, the Committee's delegation carried out two impromptu visits to specific rooms situated on the top floors of both the Ankara Police Headquarters (new building) and the Diyarbakır Police Headquarters. The rooms in question were located within the areas occupied by the Law and Order Departments, which deal with ordinary criminal suspects. In the room at the Ankara Police Headquarters, the delegation discovered a low stretcher-type bed equipped with eight straps (four each side), fitting perfectly the description of the item of furniture to which persons had said they were secured when electric shocks were administered to them. No credible explanation could be proffered for the presence of this bed in what was indicated by a sign as being an "interrogation room". In Diyarbakır, the delegation found the equipment necessary for suspension by the arms in place and ready for use (i.e. a three metre long wooden beam which was mounted on heavily-weighted filing cabinets on opposite sides of the room and fitted with a strap made of strong material securely tied to the middle). On both occasions, the delegation's discoveries caused considerable consternation among police officers present; some expressed regret, others defiance. Conclusions based on the ad hoc and periodic visits 21. In the light of all the information at its disposal, the CPT can only conclude that the practice of torture and other forms of severe ill-treatment of persons in police custody remains widespread in Turkey and that such methods are applied to both ordinary criminal suspects and persons held under anti-terrorism provisions. The words "persons in police custody" should be emphasised. 22. The Committee has heard very few allegations of ill-treatment by prison staff in the different prisons visited over the last two years, and practically none of torture. Certainly, there are problems which need to be addressed in Turkish prisons, but the phenomenon of torture is not one of them. As already indicated, the CPT's dialogue with the Turkish authorities on prison matters is on the whole progressing satisfactorily.