The Turkish Medical Association Human Rights Department, Human Rights Association and Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFT) said in a written statement that "no exceptional circumstances, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture."

The wounds, individual and social destruction caused by the earthquakes that struck on 6 February 2023 in 11 provinces with a population of 13.5 million people are deepening with each passing day.

According to the official statements, in these 11 provinces (Adana, Adıyaman, Antep, Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Malatya, Maraş, Osmaniye and Urfa), where search and rescue operations are still ongoing, the number of people who lost their lives increased to almost 36,000 and the number of people injured to 105,000.

The human rights associations said: "We would like to express once again that we feel the pain of those who lost their lives deeply and intensely in our hearts. We extend our condolences to the whole society, especially to the relatives of those who lost their lives, and wish a speedy recovery to the injured."

The human rights associations added: "We have mentioned in various statements the serious problems in search and rescue operations, health services and aid provided to survivors, and the lack of coordination proportionate with the gravity of the disaster and drew attention to human rights violations. We have particularly underlined that the heavy pain and destruction caused by the earthquake can only be overcome by upholding the principles and values of human rights and by increasing social solidarity."

The human rights associations underlined that "the human factor has a great impact on the destruction caused by earthquakes due to the failure to fulfill the scientific requirements of earthquake preparedness, serious mistakes, negligence and misconduct/corruption before and after the earthquake. Therefore, the consequence of the earthquake must be regarded as a grave violation of human rights in itself. Therefore, the human rights perspective should be the guide not only for political power but also for society in dealing with all the problems caused by the earthquake."

Writing about the violations of rights reported from the earthquake zone, the human rights associations said: "We have been watching with horror some of the images of violence and torture shared on social media, which are in need of confirmation. Especially after the political authorities' statements defending the declaration of the state of emergency on the grounds of preventing “alienators” and “looters,” the increase in such allegations and reports of such violations is quite thought-provoking.  we observe with great concerns that the security measures and sloppy rhetoric of criminalization are rapidly turning into discrimination, hate speech and violence, including torture and other acts of ill-treatment. These developments are directly destroying what we need most today: social solidarity, the only way to heal wounds. Despite all the ostentatious and assertive rhetoric, the delay in the support and relief efforts due to the insufficiency of public power, which has increased the number of those who lost their lives, and the justified anger that has arisen in society as a result of the this, has been misdirected at the wrong targets and hate crimes against asylum seekers and refugees who are also survivors of the earthquake, the declaration of some people as “looters” without concrete evidence and information, and the use of violence amounting to torture and other acts of ill-treatment without due application of law are not acceptable in any way."

call on the authorities to fulfill the obligations of universal law, which Turkey has accepted in the framework of the UNCAT’s warning and reminder, and to maintain respect for human rights.

The statement ended with a call:

"-Authorities at all levels should abandon discourses that praise and encourage torture and torturers, and the political authorities should immediately condemn acts of torture unequivocally before the public in line with the recommendations of international mechanisms at the highest level and provide assurances that such acts will not go unpunished.

-Documentation and reporting of torture should be done according to the principles of the “İstanbul Protocol”, a UN document.

-Allegations of torture must be investigated in a swift, effective and impartial manner by independent committees, and international ethical and legal rules must be followed at every stage of judicial proceedings.

-Procedural safeguards must be fully implemented in conditions of detention.

-The presidential decree of 11 February 2023, extending the detention period from four to seven days in places where a state of emergency has been declared, should immediately be withdrawn.

-The state of emergency must be lifted without delay.

In conclusion, we would like to reiterate that we will resolutely continue our active duty in the identification and documentation, reparation and legal processes of torture and other ill-treatment allegations, and we would like to remind that those who have been subjected to torture and ill-treatment may apply to our organizations."