E/CN.4/1999/61/Add.1 page 9 27. Non-governmental sources also provided the Special Rapporteur with information on the situation in parts of the country he was unable to visit. Many cases of torture were reported especially in Izmir, Manisa and Aydin. A notable case concerned Çetin Paydar who was detained on 4 March 1998 in Manisa. He confessed, allegedly under torture, that he had killed his father and was, consequently, placed on remand. Mr. Pazdar was released when his father was found alive, sitting in a park, some time later. 28. On 16 November 1998, the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal to the Government from Diyarbakir, the details of which are reported in document E/CN.4/1999/61, paragraph 729. The prison transfer of LeÕker Acar had been authorized by the General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Houses of the Ministry of Justice on 16 October 1998. Up to the date of the urgent appeal, however, he had not been transferred and was allegedly held in solitary confinement. In its reply, on 19 November 1998, the Government reported that LeÕker Acar had been transferred to Mardin E-type closed prison at his request on 18 November 1998. It also added that the offices of the General Prosecutor of Diyarbakir and Elazi— were investigating the case. A further reply specified that Mr. Acar had caused a riot upon arrival at Elazi— prison and that the allegations he had made of being subject to torture or solitary confinement were unfounded. II. THE PROTECTION OF DETAINEES AGAINST TORTURE A. Legal issues 29. Turkey is a party to most international and regional human rights instruments under which the State has an obligation to eliminate the use of torture and to provide an effective means of redress for victims of torture and similar abuse by public officials. The most important of these instruments are the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the Convention on the Rights of the Child; the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture. It must be emphasized that article 90 of the Turkish Constitution provides that “International agreements duly put into effect carry the force of law. No appeal to the Constitutional Court can be made with regard to these agreements on the ground that they are unconstitutional.” 1. Domestic legal norms 30. The domestic law of Turkey has numerous provisons prohibiting and criminalizing torture and ill-treatment by State officials. Article 17 of the Constitution provides that “[n]o one shall be subjected to torture or ill-treatment incompatible with human dignity”. The Penal Code also criminalizes the use of torture. Article 243 establishes that an official who “tortures an accused person or resorts to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in order to make him confess his offence, shall be punished by heavy imprisonment for up to five years and shall be disqualified from the civil service either temporarily or for life”. Article 245 applies to ill-treatment by the police and provides that “[t]hose authorized to use force and all police officers who, while performing their duty or executing their superiors’ orders, threaten or treat badly or cause bodily injury to a person or who