The focus of the CPT visit to Türkiye was to examine the treatment and living conditions of both “civil” and forensic psychiatric patients deprived of their liberty, as well as the situation of prisoners with mental health conditions held in special “Prisoner Wards” in psychiatric hospitals.
To this end, the delegation visited two Mental Health Hospitals and two High Security Forensic Units. Particular attention was paid to the measures taken by the Turkish authorities in implementing the Committee’s recommendations made following its 2018 visit regarding psychiatry, notably as regards patients’ living conditions and treatment, resort to means of restraint, and the safeguards afforded to them.
In the course of the visit, the delegation held a meeting with senior officials of the Ministry of Health responsible for mental health care. Further, the delegation met Muharrem Kılıç, President of the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Türkiye, in his capacity as Head of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM).
The visit was carried out by the following members of the CPT: Marie Kmecová, 1st Vice-President of the CPT (Head of delegation), Lise-Lotte Carlsson, Juan Carlos Da Silva and Slavica Dimitrievska. They were supported by Sebastian Rietz of the CPT Secretariat and assisted by Birgit Völlm, Professor in Forensic Psychiatry, Germany (expert).
The delegation visited the following psychiatric establishments:
- Ankara High Security Forensic Unit and Prisoner Unit, Ankara City Hospital (targeted visit)
- Bakırköy Mental Health Hospital (Istanbul)
- Bursa High Security Forensic Unit, Bursa City Hospital
- Samsun Mental Health Hospital
