Date: 29 May 2025
Turkey’s Constitutional Court Confirms State Failure in Investigating Torture of Abducted Teacher Zabit Kişi
The UNIVERSAL RIGHTS ASSOCIATION (URA) welcomes the recent ruling by Turkey’s Constitutional Court, which found that Turkish authorities violated their legal obligation to investigate credible allegations of torture made by Mr. Zabit Kişi — a former teacher abducted from Kazakhstan and forcibly returned to Turkey in 2017 due to alleged links to the Gülen movement.
According to the Court’s decision, Turkish authorities failed to conduct a proper investigation despite the grave nature of the allegations, extensive medical evidence, and clear procedural gaps. URA expresses deep concern that this case represents a pattern of impunity, enforced disappearances, torture, and transnational repression by Turkish institutions.
Background
Mr. Zabit Kişi was kidnapped on September 30, 2017, from Almaty International Airport by individuals who introduced themselves as operatives of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT). He was beaten and placed on an unmarked aircraft to Turkey, where he was detained incommunicado in a 3-square-meter windowless cell for 108 days. During this period, he alleges he was subjected to:
Despite severe allegations, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office closed the investigation in 2020, citing a lack of evidence, without taking formal statements from Kişi or the officers involved.
The Constitutional Court’s Findings: The Court ruled that Turkish authorities made no meaningful effort to verify Kişi’s claims. It criticized the prosecution for failing to obtain flight logs, CCTV footage, and forensic evaluations, and for disregarding medical reports showing serious injuries.
The Court emphasized: “In cases of incommunicado detention, trauma and threats may prevent victims from disclosing abuse early on. Later findings must be given due weight and context.”
Compensation & Reopening of Investigation: The Court awarded Kişi 190,000 TRY (approximately $4,860) in compensation and ordered the case file be returned to the prosecutor’s office for a new and proper investigation that meets domestic and international human rights standards.
Ongoing Impunity & Transnational Abductions: This case is not isolated. Since 2016, Turkey has orchestrated dozens of extrajudicial renditions from multiple countries through intelligence networks, circumventing legal extradition processes. Victims — mostly dissidents, academics, teachers — have reported torture, arbitrary detention, and denial of due process.
Reports by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) and the Stockholm Center for Freedom have documented these practices as violations of international law.
🟦 URA’s Call to Action We urge the Turkish government to:
🔹 Fully comply with the Constitutional Court’s ruling
🔹Ensure independent, impartial, and transparent investigations
🔹End the use of enforced disappearance, torture, and renditions
🔹Bring perpetrators to justice, regardless of rank
🔹Uphold the absolute prohibition of torture under international law
Justice for Zabit Kişi is overdue. Justice for all victims of transnational repression in Türkiye must follow.
#URA #TortureIsACrime #HumanRights #Turkey #ZabitKisi#TransnationalRepression #StopRenditions #RuleOfLaw
📎 Full article: https://www.turkishminute.com/2025/05/28/top-court-rules-turkey-violated-rights-of-gulen-linked-teacher-abducted-from-kazakhstan/
In solidarity,
Universal Rights Association (URA)