Yavuz Binbay: Ten Portraits against Torture and Impunity

Please, briefly introduce yourself.

My name is Yavuz Binbay and I was born on 20 February 1956 at Siirt, in Turkey. I studied Engineering - specializing in drilling for oil - and Psychotherapy.

I am a human rights activist working in the southeastern region of Turkey. I established at the end of 2001, and am President of, the SOHRAM-CASRA Centre (Centre for Social Assistance, Rehabilitation and Readaptation for Victims of Torture) at Diyarbakir, Turkey.

Since I was an adolescent, I have defended human rights in Turkey in a peaceful manner. In the 19980s and 1990s I was the president of a section of the Turkish Association of Human Rights. While very critical of the Government, I have always refused to support movements that use violent methods. After being arrested by the Turkish authorities, I spent seven years in prison, where I was tortured, before obtaining asylum for my family and myself in Geneva, where I learnt French. Subsequently, I decided to return to Turkey, where the PKK and the Turkish army were at war, in order to set up a center for the victims of torture and violence (SOHRAM-CASRA) in Diyarbakir.

Today, what is the biggest challenge in the fight against torture in your country? Can you take stock of the situation with regard to torture and ill-treatment in your country (the context, the extent of the problem, the types of victim and perpetrator, etc.)?

Unfortunately, in 2012 the violence continues to escalate and the two parties (PKK and BDP) are perversely encouraging children and young people, especially, to commit acts of rebellion. As a consequence, the repression is becoming ever more harsh: police operations have multiplied and the police are systematically repressing all street demonstrations with their customary brutality. Eighty per cent of the demonstrators are children or adolescents aged between 9 and 17! We are observing a great increase in the number of people held in police custody and subjected to torture (including torture committed by individuals other than those acting on behalf of the State). It is estimated that thousands of persons have been affected.

Lately, we have noted that, during interrogation sessions, physical torture is to a large extent being replaced by psychological torture. Nevertheless, there are still reports of the use of old methods of torture, such as electric shocks, falaka (a form of torture in which the soles of victims’ feet are beaten with a wooden stick, a baton, etc.), strappado (which consists of attaching victims’ arms with ropes, hoisting them to the top of a post or to the ceiling with a pulley, sometimes with weights suspended from their feet, and releasing them abruptly), pulling out tufts of victims’ hair and beard, food deprivation, beating on all parts of the body, etc, But the majority of reports received are of the use of psychological torture, such as threats, cursing, sleep deprivation or prolongation of the duration of interrogation.

According to your experience, what are the root causes of torture and impunity?

Law forbids torture and legal provisions stipulate that those who practice it must be punished. Unfortunately, however, people in high places too often protect them.

What is your approach and what kind of activities do you carry out to fight torture and ill-treatment in your country? Can you give us some examples of achievements linked to these activities?

The SOHRAM Centre has acquired a very good reputation, in particular by refraining from taking sides politically and by advocating non-violence. It offers medical care and psychotherapy to victims of violence, as well as a complete educational program aimed at their reinsertion into society, in a perspective of tolerance and intercultural and interreligious dialogue.

Each year on 26 June (the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture), the SOHRAM Centre organizes seminars on the fight against torture and the rehabilitation of victims, and also on the rights of children. A subsequent seminar has the purpose of making psychotherapy and its uses known. In the context of the campaign on the theme “All forms of violence are a crime against humanity – Say no to violence!”, we organized a picnic excursion for victims of torture and their families, as well as the people who participated in organizing the picnic, to help them forget their torture for a day. More than 1,500 people participated in the annual SOHRAM-CASRA picnic in 2012.

The reintegration of victims of all forms of violence into society is a long-term undertaking that cannot be restricted to education and medical and psychological care. They must be complemented by assistance of a social nature. This is why the Social Service of SOHRAM provides the following:

- A social worker, backed up by 20 volunteers, visits the families and school classes of the children helped by SOHRAM to enable the early diagnosis of problems of a health, psychological, social or administrative nature and to find solutions. The same service helps the young and not so young in their search for employment and apprenticeships.

- A lawyer working on a voluntary basis in our legal service provides legal advice for victims of torture and violence, and a free examination of the files that will be submitted to the Tribunal. We try to respond to all requests to the limit of our possibilities.

What obstacles do you encounter daily when carrying out your activities?

Our biggest challenges in 2012 have been the budgetary deficit and the very large increase in requests from victims of torture. Because of our financial difficulties we have been obliged to lay off a psychologist.

Following four robberies in the SOHRAM-CASRA offices, we have lost all our electronic equipment, such as computers, cameras and all our diskettes and CDs. Our Internet site www.sohram.com, which enables us to communicate with victims and persons who need our services, has been attacked on two occasions by a hacker. These incidents worry us and we think that the two attacks are linked. It is clear that persons “in the shadows” are seeking to censure us.

Do you feel threatened because of your activities? Do you face any interference in your work ? If this is the case, kindly provide details.

I fear for the security of the Centre and that of our patients. Unknown persons have spread information alleging that our center provides treatment to terrorists and their families.

What needs to be done to ensure that “Nothing justifies torture” becomes a reality in your country?

The start of an inquiry or of a court case against torturers depends on permission being granted by the governor. If the governor does not allow it, the procurator cannot initiate an enquiry or a trial.

What part does and should public opinion play in the fight against torture and what can the public do to support that fight?

Public support for non-governmental organizations is very important, whether it be in the form of participation in our activities or through financial support to enable us to carry on the fight against torture.