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Teen suicide highlights torture in Turkey's juvenile detention centers

Conditions in Turkish jails and prisons for juveniles ignite charges of human rights abuses.
Istanbul's courthouse is surrounded by police fences during the trial of Erol Onderoglu, the representative of Reporters Without Borders, on July 17, 2019. - Erol Onderoglu, the representative of Reporters Without Borders (RWB) in Turkey, and two other Turkish journalists are prosecuted for supporting pro-Kurdish newspaper "Ozgur Gundem". They risk up to 14,5 years in prison. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

The death by suicide of a 17-year-old boy Feb. 19 in a juvenile prison in Istanbul has reignited allegations of ill treatment of minors under police detention and government pressure on the judiciary, even as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed this week that there is “zero tolerance” for torture in Turkey.

Turkish authorities say Kadir Aktar used a bedsheet and blankets to hang himself in his cell a day after he was arrested in connection with an attack on an individual in July 2020. The boy’s family is demanding an immediate investigation, saying his death is “suspicious.” Aktar’s lawyer, Ahmet Atalay, who was present at the boy’s autopsy, said its findings indicated that internal bleeding had occurred in his arms and legs. This in turn pointed to the possibility that he had been beaten. Aktar was being held in solitary confinement in keeping with COVID-19 protocols, and there was no surveillance camera in his cell, Atalay said.

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