"The delegation did receive a number of allegations from detained persons (including juveniles) of recent physical ill-treatment by police officers," the report by the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) covering the period from June 9 to 21, 2013 said.
"A firm message [needs] to be delivered at regular intervals to management and staff … that ill-treatment of prisoners is not acceptable and will be punished accordingly," the report added.
The committee revealed in its report that cases where inmates had been subjected to ill-treatment had been discovered in prisons in the cities of Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Izmir and Tekirdag.
The report also comments on questionable practices used on the inmate population of juvenile prisons, namely Ankara-Sincan Juvenile Prison.
"Staff should be reminded in particular that no form of physical chastisement should ever be used against juveniles. Any prisoner who fails to comply with prison rules should be dealt with only in accordance with the prescribed disciplinary procedures," the report said.
The CPT also urged the Turkish authorities to tackle the issue of overcrowding at certain detention facilities and provide all the necessary accommodation conditions to the inmate population.
The CPT visits places of detention in order to assess how people deprived of their liberty are treated. The places visited by the committee include prisons, juvenile detention centers, police stations, immigration detainees holding centers, psychiatric hospitals and social care homes among other facilities.
