A/HRC/7/3/Add.2 page 136 Turkey Follow-up to the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur in the report of his visit to Turkey in November 1998 (E/CN.4/1999/61/Add.1, para. 113). 677. The Government provided information by letters dated 26 October 2007 and 29 January 2008, some of which was provided in previous reports (see appendix 1). 678. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the detailed information about the steps taken to implement the recommendations. He notes the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture’s (CPT) assessment following a visit in December 2005, which lauded the improvements in terms of legislation, safeguards for detainees, conditions of detention. 7 At the same time it stressed that “there are clearly no grounds for complacency, all the more so as reports continue to appear of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials in different parts of the country.” He encourages Turkey to expedite its ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. 679. Recommendation (a) stated: The legislation should be amended to ensure that no one is held without prompt access to a lawyer of his or her choice as required under the law applicable to ordinary crimes or, when compelling reasons dictate, access to another independent lawyer. 680. According to non-governmental sources, while there are great improvements in this area, there are still cases of lawyers reporting problems in gaining access to detainees. Although lawyers have not reported that the police routinely apply for the 24 hour postponement of access to legal counsel for a detainee provided for in cases that fall under the remit of the Anti-Terror Law, there are indications that the existence of the possibility to do so is undesirable given the continuing, albeit reduced, risk of torture or ill-treatment in places of detention. Torture or ill-treatment is still reported as being most likely to occur in the first 24 hours after arrest. 681. In 2007 several lawyers have been impeded from meeting in private with detainees, in violation of the law and in cases where there had been no resort to the 24hour postponement of access to legal counsel provided for in the revised anti-terrorism law of June 2006. Elements of law enforcement agencies continue to demonstrate negative attitudes to lawyers and adopt various tactics that obstruct them from discharging their professional duties. There have been at least three serious cases of violence against lawyers by law enforcement officials, such as the case of Mustafa Rollas. Mr. Rollas, the former head of the Izmir branch of the Human Rights Association, alleged that on 9 September 2007, he was denied access to two clients detained at a police station known as the Fuar Asayiş Ekipler Amirliği in Izmir. When he protested, an 7 Report to the Turkish Government on the visit to Turkey carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 7 to 14 December 2005, 6 September 2006, CPT/Inf (2006) 30.