E/CN.4/1993/26 page 105 Turkey Information transmitted to the Government and replies received thereon 477. On 16 September 1992 the Special Rapporteur transmitted to the Government of Turkey a summary of the main allegations received with regard to the practice of torture in the country as well as a number of individual cases. In addition to this, the Special Rapporteur made 12 urgent appeals on behalf of persons who, according to the information received, were at risk of being tortured. On different dates the Government provided replies with respect to some of these appeals. (a) Information transmitted to the Government with regard to the practice of torture in general 478. The Special Rapporteur received information according to which torture usually takes place in special sections of police stations, now called "Branches to Fight Terrorism", during the initial interrogation of a suspect. It was alleged that between 80 and 90 per cent of political suspects and a large percentage of detainees suspected of ordinary crimes are subjected to torture during detention. Frequent allegations of torture and ill-treatment have especially been received concerning cases from the south-eastern provinces. 479. Torture includes beatings with truncheons, suspension by the arms or wrists while naked, the use of electric shock to sensitive parts of the body, placing the detainee into a ring of several tyres so that he is unable to move and pouring hot and cold water over him, directing high-pressure water at victims and falaga (beating the soles of the feet). It was also reported that almost every woman submitted to torture is sexually harassed and sometimes even raped. The person tortured is usually kept blindfolded. 480. It was also reported that a person charged with common or "individual" crimes can in general be detained for 24 hours and a person charged with crimes under the Anti-Terror Law of 12 April 1991 for 48 hours before being presented to a judge. Additionally, the police may detain persons charged with any "crime of a collective or conspiratorial nature" for a maximum of 30 days in the 10 provinces under emergency rule and for 15 days in the rest of the country. These long detention periods are, according to the reports, a major factor in the continued use of torture. It was also reported that Turkish law does not guarantee a detainee the right to have a lawyer present during the questioning as such, but guarantees a general right of access to a lawyer. However, lawyers are reportedly constantly denied by the police or security forces an opportunity to see their clients. According to the law a detainee's family must be notified of the detention within the shortest time; however, in practice relatives spend days trying to learn the whereabouts of a detainee and are neither informed about the place of detention nor helped by the authorities in their search for such information. 481. As for the medical examinations, it was reported that very often they take place long after the torture actually happened. Some are cursory in nature and some are done in the intimidating presence of police officials. There have also been reports which suggest that in some cases State doctors