MISUSE OF PUBLIC POWER, ALLEGATIONS OF TORTURE, AND HUMAN RIGHTS TRIALS
The State’s Monopoly on the Use of Force and Individual Bodily Integrity The modern state constitutionally holds the “legitimate monopoly on the use of force” for the purpose of ensuring public order. However, this authority is not unlimited; the actions of law enforcement officers (police, gendarmerie, prison guards) are strictly bounded by universal human rights law and the Constitution. Allegations of the disproportionate use of force, ill-treatment, and torture against individuals under the state’s own custody and control (detention centers, prisons) or during interventions in social events constitute the peak point of the power imbalance between the individual and the state. A public official stepping outside the law by hiding behind a uniform and state authority is an attack not only on the victim, but directly on the foundations of the state governed by the rule of law.
The Institution of Investigation Permission and Breaking the “Shield of Impunity” The greatest bureaucratic obstacle encountered in crimes alleged to have been committed by public officials is the “investigation permission” that must be granted by the administration within the scope of Law No. 4483 on the Trial of Civil Servants and Other Public Officials. In practice, the failure of administrations to grant investigation permission by acting with the reflex of protecting their own personnel creates a de facto “shield of impunity” in gross human rights violations. However, the judgments of the Constitutional Court and the ECtHR are extremely clear: In allegations of torture and ill-treatment (Turkish Penal Code Art. 94 et seq.), an investigation must be initiated immediately and ex officio against any official, without being subject to the permission stipulated in their law. The bureaucratic hierarchy cannot be allowed to overshadow the supremacy of law.
Effective Legal Struggle Within the Scope of Universal Human Rights Law Legal processes conducted against those representing public power require an extremely high level of professional resilience and a vision of international law. The process conducted in files within this scope consists of:
- Ensuring that camera (CCTV/body camera) records regarding the moment of目 the incident are promptly backed up through Criminal Judgeships of Peace before the risk of obscuring or deletion (overwriting) arises,
- Transforming physical and psychological destruction into permanent evidence by obtaining independent forensic medical reports in compliance with international “Minnesota Protocol” standards instead of standard assault reports during forensic examination processes,
- Carrying the file urgently to the agenda of the Constitutional Court Individual Application and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the event of the exhaustion of domestic legal remedies (decisions of non-prosecution or acquittals) to establish violation rulings (and compensations).
The value defended here is not merely the personal rights of the client, but the principle of the inviolability of “human dignity” against the state apparatus.
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