Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFT)

Turkey's most authoritative human rights group, the HRFT operates torture treatment centers in five regions in Turkey. It also carries out documentation and campaigning on the problem of torture in Turkish prisons and other places of detention. Since 1996, Human Rights First has been working with the HRFT to combat torture through legal reform, and raising public awareness. We worked closely with the HRFT and many other organizations in drafting the Istanbul Protocol, a manual that sets out international guidelines for investigating cases of alleged torture, which was endorsed by the UN Commission on Human Rights. Our partnership with the HRFT and other Turkish activists has helped bring torture to the forefront of Turkish politics and public life and made effective change a real possibility.

Over the years, the government has repeatedly harassed the HRFT, by prosecuting, imprisoning, and threatening its leaders, and closing its regional centers. Most recently, the Diyarbakir branch of the HRFT has come under threat of closure. Police carried out an illegal search of its offices in September 2001 and seized confidential patient files. In October, the public prosecutor announced that he was opening a criminal investigation into the HRFT. When HRFT members have come under fire, we have successfully responded by sending trial observers, launching letter writing appeals, and intervening with U.S. and Turkish government officials, sending the message that the Turkish government should devote its energies to stopping torturers, rather than penalizing those who expose its prevalence.