CHP asks for probe into torture on PM

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has submitted a proposal to open a parliamentary inquiry into the alleged torture suffered by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Thus far, Erdoğan himself has been the only source claiming that he endured torture. Since late December, Erdoğan has said more than once that he suffered torture in the past, without elaborating. 

A group of CHP deputies led by Manisa deputy Hasan Ören submitted their proposal to the Parliament Speaker’s Office on Jan. 21. They noted that Erdoğan spoke to television channels of his torture though did not give any further information on the circumstances surrounding it.

“Torture of the prime minister of the Republic of Turkey is not an issue to be covered up. We propose opening a parliamentary inquiry in order to determine when, where and how the prime minister was tortured and to find the torturers and responsible parties,” the CHP said.

“I was tortured, too, and I have condemned such practices because we’ve been through that affair. When I was imprisoned, a lot of our friends were unfortunately tortured afterwards. Some of them are now deputies,” Erdoğan said in an interview with NTV news channel on Dec. 21.

In 1999, Erdoğan, the then-mayor of Istanbul, was sentenced and served four months in jail for religious sedition over a poem with Islamist connotations that he recited at a rally. k HDN