ANKARA, Nov 10 (AFP) - Turkey's top appeals court on Wednesday upheld a jail sentence of four years and two months for a policeman convicted of involvement in torturing to death a labor unionist, a ruling that a lawyer for the victim's family denounced as too lenient.
A lower court first jailed the officer for 10 years, but then reduced the sentence on grounds that it was impossible to determine which of the three policemen charged with torturing Suleyman Yeter had caused his death.
Yeter died in police custody in Istanbul in March 1999, his neck fractured, haemorrhaging and his body covered in bruises.
An official inquiry found that the unionist, who was detained as part of an operation against a far-left underground group, had been tortured to death.
The appeals court also upheld the acquittal of a second officer charged in the case, Anatolia news agency reported.
The third suspect is still on the run and his separate trial continues in absentia.
A lawyer representing Yeter's family said he was disappointed with the appeals court's confirmation of the ruling and accused the authorities of protecting public servants despite government declarations of a "zero tolerance" approach to torture.
"Unfortunately, this is a verdict that shows nothing more than the resistance all state institutions display when it comes to (punishing) torturers and, particularly, public servants," attorney Keles Ozturk told AFP.
Eradicating torture is one of the main challenges that Turkey faces in its bid to join the European Union.
An official EU report last month that proclaimed Turkey ready for accession talks, said torture was no longer "systematic" in the country despite claims by human rights activists that the practice is still widespread.
In September, the Turkish parliament passed a major penal code reform, due to come into effect in April 2005, which increases the maximum penalty for torture from eight to 12 years and foresees life imprisonment for offenders if the torture results in death.
11/10/2004 11:36 GMT - AFP