The main objective of the visit was to examine the treatment and safeguards afforded to persons detained by law enforcement agencies. To this end, the CPT’s delegation interviewed hundreds of persons who were or had recently been held in police custody in the Ankara, Diyarbakır, Istanbul and Şanlıurfa areas.

On the occasion of the visit, the delegation also went to Imralı F-type High-Security Prison, in order to examine the treatment and conditions of detention of all (four) prisoners currently held in the establishment and to review the measures taken by the Turkish authorities in the light of the recommendations made by the CPT after its previous visit to the prison (in April 2016). In this connection, particular attention was paid to the communal activities offered to the prisoners and the application in practice of their right to receive visits from relatives and lawyers.

In the course of the visit, the delegation held consultations with Süleyman Soylu, Minister of the Interior, Abdulhamit Gül, Minister of Justice, Muhterem Ince, Deputy Minister of the Interior, and Muhammet Güven, Deputy Minister of Health, as well as with senior officials from the Ministries of the Interior, Justice, Health and Foreign Affairs.

Further, the delegation met 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 (OPCAT), 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)
• Djordje Alempijević
• Nico Hirsch
• Julia Kozma
• Davor Strinović
• Hans Wolff.

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

The delegation visited the following places:

Law enforcement establishments

Ankara Police Headquarters:

• Anti-Terror Department
• Homicide Department
• Law and Order Department
• Narcotics Department
• Organised Crime Department
• Theft Department

Diyarbakır Police Headquarters:

• Anti-Terror Department
• Narcotics Department

Diyarbakır-Hani Police Station

Diyarbakır-Huzur Police Station

Diyarbakır-Yenişehir Police Station

Diyarbakır Regional Gendarmerie Commandership

Diyarbakır-Mermer Gendarmerie Station

Istanbul Police Headquarters:

• Anti-Terror Department
• Common Detention Facility

Istanbul-Sultanbeyli District Police Headquarters

Istanbul-Sancaktepe Police Station

Istanbul-Ahmet Yesevi Police Station

Şanlıurfa Police Headquarters:

• Anti-Terror Department
• Juveniles Department
• Narcotics Department

Prisons

Diyarbakır D-type High-Security Prison

Diyarbakır E-type Prison

Diyarbakır T-type Prison No. 2

Diyarbakır Juvenile Prison

Imralı F-type High-Security Prison

Istanbul Bakırköy Prison for Women

Istanbul-Metris T-type Prison No. 1

Istanbul-Silivri Prison No. 5

Istanbul-Silivri Prison No. 6

Istanbul-Maltepe L-type Prison No. 1

Istanbul-Maltepe L-type Prison No. 3

Şanlıurfa E-type Prison

Şanlıurfa T-type Prison No. 1

Şanlıurfa T-type Prison No. 2.