The main objective of the visit was to examine the treatment and safeguards afforded to persons detained by law enforcement agencies as well as the treatment and conditions of detention of persons held in prisons. Particular attention was paid to the situation of women, juvenile prisoners and persons sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment. Further, the delegation was able to assess the impact of the measures taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in prisons.

On the occasion of the visit, the delegation also raised with the relevant authorities certain issues related to the follow-up of previous recommendations of the CPT regarding the situation of the prisoners being held in Imralı F-type High-Security Prison.

In the course of the visit, the delegation met Süleyman Soylu, Minister of the Interior, Abdulhamit Gül, Minister of Justice, Muhterem Ince, Deputy Minister of the Interior, Uğurhan Kuş, Deputy Minister of Justice, and Yunus Alkaç, Director General of Prisons and Detention Centres, as well as senior officials from the Ministries of the Interior (including the General Command of Gendarmerie), Justice and Foreign Affairs.

Further, meetings were held with Süleyman Arslan, President of the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Turkey, in his capacity as Head of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) set up under the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture, and representatives of non-governmental organisations active in areas of concern to the CPT.

At the end of the visit, the delegation presented its preliminary observations to the Turkish authorities.

The visit was carried out by the following members of the CPT:

• Mykola Gnatovskyy, President of the CPT (Head of Delegation)
• Therese Rytter, 2nd VicePresident of the CPT
• Djordje Alempijević
• Nico Hirsch
• Julia Kozma
• Ceyhun Qaracayev
• Hans Wolff.

They were supported by Hugh Chetwynd (Head of Division) and Elvin Aliyev of the CPT's Secretariat.

The delegation visited the following places of deprivation of liberty:

Law enforcement establishments

• Ankara Police Headquarters
  • Financial Crimes Department
  • Homicide Department
  • Narcotics Department
  • Public Order Department
  • Theft Department
• Ankara Police Anti-Terror Department
• Diyarbakır Police Headquarters Anti-Terror Department
• Istanbul Police Headquarters
  • Anti-Terror Department
  • Common Detention Facility
• Istanbul Ataşehir District Police Directorate
  • Juvenile Department
  • Public Order Department
• Istanbul Bağcılar District Police Station
• Istanbul Bağcılar Yüzyıl Public Order Police Station
• Istanbul 75. Yıl Yenibosna District Police Station
• Istanbul Ümraniye Dudullu District Police Station
  • Juvenile Department
  • Public Order Department
• Istanbul Gayrettepe Police Directorate
  • Homicide Department
  • Public Order Department
  • Robbery Department
  • Theft Department
• Istanbul Maltepe Küçükyalı District Police Station
• Kayseri Police Headquarters
  • Narcotics Department
  • Smuggling and Organised Crime Department
• Kayseri Kocasinan District Gendarmerie Commandership

Prisons

• Diyarbakır High-Security Prison No. 1
• Diyarbakır T-type Prison No. 3
• Istanbul Bakırköy Women’s Prison
• Istanbul Maltepe L-type Prison No. 1
• Istanbul Maltepe L-type Prison No. 2*
• Istanbul Maltepe Juvenile Prison
• Istanbul Metris T-type Prison No. 1
• Kayseri T-type Prison No. 1
• Kayseri Women’s Prison

* targeted visit to examine the conditions of detention of juveniles