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Parliamentary question - E-005158/2014Parliamentary question
E-005158/2014

Case of Onur Yaser Can

Question for written answer E-005158-14
to the Commission
Rule 117
Salvador Sedó i Alabart (PPE) , Raimon Obiols (S&D) , Marietje Schaake (ALDE) , Hélène Flautre (Verts/ALE) , Michael Cashman (S&D) , Raül Romeva i Rueda (Verts/ALE)

On 2 June 2010, Onur Yaser Can was arrested and taken to the narcotics branch of the Istanbul Security Directorate on suspicion of carrying illegal drugs. Onur was exposed to many lawless acts, including torture, sexual harassment and abuse at the Narcotic Branch Office of the Istanbul Police Department, where he had been taken under arrest. Following his arrest, Onur was illegally kept under constant surveillance and remained unregistered for 22 days. After being subjected to such degrading treatment, Onur committed suicide by jumping out of the window of the fourth floor of his home on 23 June 2010.

In 2012 Onur’s family filed a criminal complaint, containing written and visual evidence, to the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) against 13 police officers and chiefs on the following grounds: aggravated torture and sexual abuse, forgery of official documents, and concealment and destruction of evidence. Various departments at the HSYK concluded that ‘there was no need for an investigation’.

After tirelessly defending Onur’s cause for three and a half years, Onur’s mother, Hatice Can, jumped from a window and died last March. However, Onur’s family continues to fight Turkey’s judicial system, knowing that they are not the only ones facing police brutality in Turkey.

In light of the above:

OJ C 426, 27/11/2014