İstanbul municipal official alleges strip search during detention

Fatoş Pınar Türker, the general manager of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s media subsidiary Medya AŞ, said she was subjected to a strip search during her detention. Türker has been in detention since March last year as part of a sweeping corruption case against the opposition-controlled municipality.

She made the allegations during her defense at the latest hearing of the ongoing case on Jun 9. After being detained and brought to the İstanbul Security Directorate, a police officer first ordered her to take off her clothes, demanded she remove her underwear, and gave her instructions like “open your genitals” and “turn around, bend over,” Türker stated.

“If anyone is embarrassed, they can leave, I am not embarrassed to talk about what I lived through,” Türker said in the courtroom. “It feels like this is done to break people’s honor and pride. Let those who did it be embarrassed, I am not embarrassed.”

Criticism from rights groups

Following Türker’s statement, political parties and women’s rights organizations criticized the practice.

“Strip search is a form of torture and ill-treatment clearly prohibited under the United Nations and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Women’s bodies, motherhood, and children cannot be used as tools of coercion under any circumstances,” the Federation of Women’s Associations of Turkey said in a statement.

The statement also supported Türker’s words, adding, “Those who should be embarrassed are those who put these practices into effect. An independent and effective investigation must be launched immediately.”

The İstanbul Bar Association Women’s Rights Center also released a statement, noting that practices aimed at establishing control over women’s bodies and silencing them are unacceptable. “Strip search is a sexual torture; the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment is absolute,” it said.

Halide Türkoğlu, spokesperson for the Women’s Assembly of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, argued that such practices are not isolated. She stated that many women and youth have previously described undergoing similar treatment during detention and interrogation processes.

“Saying ‘there is no such practice’ without conducting any effective investigation means nothing other than covering up crimes committed against women. We do not accept any practice that disregards the statements of women and targets their bodies for security reasons,” Türkoğlu said.

The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey and the Human Rights Association issued a joint statement. “Strip search and forced stripping, which cannot be justified merely as a ‘security procedure,’ are methods of torture that violate personal privacy, target moral values and social identity, harm psychological integrity, and amount to sexual violence,” the organizations said.

The Women’s Platform for Equality also made a statement, saying, “We reject this inhumane practice that humiliates women, traumatizes them, and attempts to normalize rights violations.”

Statement from EU rapporteur

Nacho Sánchez Amor, the European Union (EU) rapporteur on Turkey, expressed his criticism in a statement on social media.

“I’m deeply moved by the case of Fatoş Pınar Türker, one defendant in the farcical [İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality case] designed to politically destroy Ekrem İmamoğlu. . I’m equally horrified by the thought of how many other women, unknown to the public, may have endured a similar horrible experience.

“She embodies the #Türkiye I admire and love: independent, courageous, and self-made. A mother of two with a brilliant career, she stood before the court and defended herself with impressive dignity and resolve, despite having lost already 15 months of her life to this ordeal.

“On the other side is the #Türkiye I detest: the one represented by those who abuse power to humiliate and cruelly mistreat innocent people. People like the unnamed prosecutor -an Akın Gürlek’s lackey- who sank to the disgraceful act of using Fatoş’s daughters to threaten her.”

İstanbul police deny wrongdoing

The İstanbul Security Directorate issued a statement after the allegations, saying there was no illegal action during Türker’s detention.

“A statement has been deemed necessary by the İstanbul Security Directorate to accurately inform the public regarding the unfounded allegations appearing in some media organs and social media platforms.

“The posts in question include the statements of Fatoş Pınar Türker, the (arrested) General Manager of the İBB subsidiary Medya A.Ş., regarding the practices she claimed to have been subjected to during her detention at the İstanbul Security Directorate.

“All apprehension, detention, body search, and judicial proceedings carried out within the İstanbul Security Directorate are conducted within the framework of the Constitution, relevant legislative provisions, human rights principles, and procedures open to judicial review. Maximum sensitivity is shown for the protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms of detained individuals, and all procedures are fulfilled in line with legal legislation.

“In the case in question, there was no practice contrary to the legislation during the procedures carried out throughout the person’s detention period, and the allegations do not reflect the truth.”

Justice Minister Akın Gürlek left questions from journalists regarding the issue unanswered. Responding to questions during his departure from the ministry building by saying “We have a meeting,” Gürlek walked away without making a statement.

(VK)