CCPR/C/125/D/2980/2017 such access. On 9 May 2017, brief contact between the lawyer and the authors was allowed. The request for access to the authors’ case files, however, was denied. 2.4 On 12 May 2017, the authors were removed to Turkey despite the fact that an extradition hearing had not been held and no judicial decision to that effect had been taken. Upon return to Turkey, the authors were held in incommunicado detention at an unknown location. The complaint 3.1 At the time of the initial submission, the authors claimed that, as detainees, they were at imminent risk of being tortured and ill-treated, in violation of their rights under articles 6, 7, 9 and 10 of the Covenant. They noted that they were considered to be connected to the Gülen movement, which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the State party, and that cases of torture and abuse had frequently been documented with regard to individuals alleged to be associated with the movement.2 3.2 The authors further claimed that their rights under article 14 of the Covenant had been violated as they were held in incommunicado detention in Turkey at an unknown location and were deprived of their right to a fair trial. The only information the authors’ relatives had received on their whereabouts was that they had been interrogated by the antiterror unit of the Ankara police department on 14 May 2017. Their relatives did not have any information as to where the authors were detained or whether they had been brought before a judge or had access to a lawyer and their case files. 3.3 On 25 September 2017, in their comments on the State party’s observations on the admissibility of the complaint, the authors provide further information on the complaint. They argue that they have been arbitrarily and unlawfully deprived of their liberty in violation of their rights under article 9 of the Covenant. They claim that they were removed from Malaysia without an extradition request; that Turkish authorities have not informed them of the charges against them; that it took the Turkish authorities 19 and 21 days, respectively, to bring them before a judge; that they have not had the opportunity to reappear in person or be represented by a lawyer before a court to have their detention reviewed; and that they do not have access to their case files. 3.4 The authors claim that they have been subjected to ill-treatment in violation of their rights under article 7 of the Covenant. Mr. Özçelik informed his counsel that he had been subjected to ill-treatment, that violence had been used against him and that his family had been threatened. As a result of this ill-treatment, his health problems – in particular his heart condition – have drastically worsened. Mr. Karaman has also been subjected to illtreatment and torture. The authors claim that they have also been threatened with solitary confinement. 3.5 In their submission of 25 September 2017, the authors provide further information as to their claims under article 10 of the Covenant. They claim that their families were not informed of their prison transfers and that they have been detained in a prison far from their families’ home town. Contact with their families has been rendered so difficult and burdensome that they rarely have the opportunity to communicate with them, despite having made official applications for telephone conversations with family members. They also claim that they were not allowed to receive clothes from their families for a period of three months and that they were refused adequate medical care. They have been kept in overcrowded cells, which are intended for a maximum of 20 persons but in which 26 persons are held. They have been deprived of basic access to food, hygienic conditions and recreation. 3.6 As to their claim under article 14 of the Covenant, the authors claim that they have not been informed of the charges against them and that they have not had access to prompt legal assistance. The first time they were allowed to consult with their respective counsels 2 The authors refer to the report by Human Rights Watch entitled “A blank check, Turkey’s post-coup suspension of safeguards against torture” of October 2016, and the report by Amnesty International entitled “Turkey: independent monitors must be allowed to access detainees amid torture allegations” of July 2016. 3