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Islamic Human Rights Commission
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31st May 2003

PRESS RELEASE: TURKEY – Allegations of continued torture investigated by IHRC

The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) is currently investigating allegations of torture by prison guards in Turkey.

A team of lawyers has just returned from Turkey, having tried to gain access to Nureddin Sirin, one of IHRC’s nominated prisoners of faith. It has come to IHRC’s attention that Sirin has been allegedly subjected to persistent forms of ill-treatment and torture including: sleep deprivation; persistent strip-searching; denial of access to radio, television, writing and reading materials; prolonged periods of isolation.

IHRC is continuing its investigation into these claims. Sirin has been tortured before. Sirin is a journalist who is effectively detained for holding pro-Palestinian views. He has served five and a half years of a seventeen and a half years sentence for this, and has also been convicted of holding pro-Kurdish views after he wrote an article of solidarity from prison.

For further information please call the Press Officer on (+44) 20 8902 0888, email: info@ihrc.org.

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Islamic Human Rights Commission
PO Box 598
Wembley
HA9 7XH
United Kingdom

Telephone (+44) 20 8902 0888
Fax (+44) 20 8902 0889
Email info@ihrc.org
Web www.ihrc.org