A/HRC/7/3/Add.2 page 141 picked up and taken to an open place near the old city walls where he was severely beaten with truncheons and kicked, and verbally abused and threatened, by a group of police officers. He reported that he was driven back to the Karaköy area of Istanbul and thrown out of the moving car. He later secured a forensic medical report from the Siyami Ersek Hospital which recorded that he had two cracked ribs, heavy bruising on the body and was unfit for work for a 20-day period. As of 28 November, Sinan Tekpetek reported that there was no progress in the prosecutor’s investigation and no indication of any attempt to examine CCTV footage of either the area where the alleged abduction had taken place or where Tekpetek reported that he had been ejected from the moving car. 701. The Government reported that public prosecutors investigate allegations of torture and ill-treatment diligently and effectively, and where the claim is supported with concrete evidence (such as witness statements, medical reports, etc.), they promptly initiate criminal cases to bring those responsible to justice. If any evidence to support the allegations of torture or ill-treatment, is disregarded or neglected by the public prosecutors during an investigation, it is possible to initiate a preliminary inquiry, investigation or prosecution against them under the Law No. 2802. Therefore, “checks and balances” do exist in the Turkish criminal justice system. 702. The suggestion that impunity is granted to senior officials in cases of torture or ill-treatment, is groundless and unsubstantiated. The official rank has no relevance or significance in terms of investigation, prosecution or trial of the perpetrators of torture or ill-treatment. It should be emphasized that not all treatment suffered qualify as illtreatment under article 96 of the Turkish Penal Code. In order to fall within the scope of this article, the treatment suffered by the complainant must reach a “minimum level of severity”, as confirmed by the European Court of Justice in its jurisprudence on article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The assessment of the “minimum level of severity” is relative. It depends on all the circumstances of the case, such as the duration of the treatment, its physical and mental effects and, in some cases the sex, age and state of health of the victim. All these factors are given due consideration in light of documented evidence when dealing with allegations of ill-treatment. 703. The Law No. 5681 on the amendment of the “Law on the Duties and Responsibilities of the Police” (No. 2559) contains new provisions concerning the authority of police to stop and carry-out identity checks, to take finger prints and photographs, to conduct preventive searches, to use force and lethal weapons. The Law does not grant the police officials any new authority or power in terms of detention. Detention proceedings are governed by the Criminal Procedure Code No. 5271, according to which the authority to detain rests solely with the public prosecutors. Therefore, the suggestion that the new law would amount to torture or ill-treatment in practice is groundless and unsubstantiated. The Law No. 5681 aligns the current police powers with the requirements and necessities of today’s criminal justice system. Many of its provisions aim at regulating crime prevention measures, which constitute an important pillar of contemporary police law.