Supreme Court Of Appeals: Torture Is A Crime Against Humanity

ANKARA - The Supreme Court of Appeals Criminal General Board said on Wednesday that human rights included all rights without making any discrimination, and stressed that torture, therefore, was a crime against humanity.
The Supreme Court of Appeals Criminal Department no: 8 unanimously annulled verdict of the Mersin High Criminal Court no: 2 which earlier had not accepted the accusation of torture in a lawsuit filed against two policemen and a doctor, and had changed the accusation as ''maltreatment''. The court had acquitted the doctor who was accused of neglecting his duty.
In its decision, the Supreme Court of Appeals Criminal Department no: 8 said, ''it was proved with testimonies and reports that some people who were detained on charges of stealing automobiles, were forced to undress, given electricity and exposed to torture by suspect policemen. These policemen should be punished on charges of torture in accordance with Article 243 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). Meanwhile, the court delegation ruled that suspect doctor neglected his duty by examining the detainees only verbally.''
When the local court insisted on its first verdict, the file of the case was transferred to the Supreme Court of Appeals Criminal General Board.
The board annulled the verdict of the local court, and ruled that suspect policemen should be punished on charges of torture, and suspect doctor should be punished on charges of neglecting his duty.
Stressing that human rights was one of the most important issues of the century, the board said, ''people can resort to force because of their compulsions and their failure to control these compulsions. Humanity has reached some moral values with development of civilization. Human rights include all rights without making any discrimination. Therefore, torture is a crime against humanity. The Constitution of Republic of Turkey includes a binding article which says, 'no one can be exposed to torture and cruelty. No one can be exposed to a punishment or treatment which is against human honor.' In a democratic state of law, efforts to find evidence cannot be accepted as an excuse of violation of human rights.''