E/CN.4/1999/61/Add.1
page 15
50.
Another important guarantee to ensure that the rights of a detainee are
respected is to maintain clear records of the apprehension and custody of the
individual. In this regard, article 12 of the Regulation on Apprehension,
Police Custody and Interrogation provides very clear guidelines on the
information that is to be registered by the police in the admissions book.
These guidelines are consistent with the Body of Principles for the Protection
of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, in particular
principle 12. Article 6 of the Regulation on Apprehension, Police Custody and
Interrogation also provides that an individual is to be immediately informed
of his rights upon apprehension.
51.
In practice, however, the Special Rapporteur encountered certain
shortcomings and gaps in the process. On his visit to one jandarma station he
discovered that there was a delay between the time a detainee was brought to
the station and the time the detention was actually recorded in the book. In
this particular case, the suspect had been brought to the station at 3 a.m.;
this was not recorded in the admissions book until 11 a.m. The officer on
duty explained that the detention was not recorded until the public prosecutor
had given written permission to do so. Another shortcoming that the Special
Rapporteur discovered at one police station is that the officer who logs the
information into the admissions book does not sign or indicate his name; it is
only the officer who records the release or transfer of the detainees who
signs the admissions book. In the event that the rights of the individual
have been violated, the failure to record the name of the officer admitting
the detainees obviously creates problems for accountability.
52.
Further, the Special Rapporteur had been informed that a protocol had
been distributed to all police and jandarma stations setting out the rights of
an individual who has been apprehended, which must be provided to the
individual upon his apprehension. In the above-mentioned jandarma station,
the officer on duty admitted that there were no copies of this protocol
available to present to detainees. He stated, however, that detainees were
orally informed of their rights. But when the Special Rapporteur questioned
those being held at the station, they indicated that they had not been
informed of their rights, but rather, had been requested to sign statements,
which they had not read, to the effect that they had waived their right to a
lawyer. This incident highlights the need for widespread training of all
security personnel on the new Regulation on Apprehension, Police Custody and
Interrogation.
B.
Medical issues
53.
The Special Rapporteur has deemed it necessary to devote a distinct
section of his report to the role of the medical profession, not only because
of its ordinary relationship with torture, both from the perspective of
prevention and from that of detection and investigation, but also because of
its especially pivotal role in the Turkish context. In particular, problems
can be identified in Turkey in connection with the lack of forensic training
and equipment of medical personnel, the issuing of medical certificates for
persons in detention, and the role and questionable independence of prison
doctors. However, it is first necessary to understand the relationships
between actors in the forensic field and, in particular, the chain of
accountability.
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