An offprint of this article is also available at no charge. The Boston-based group also said that health professionals in Turkey are repeatedly persecuted for providing medical care to members of illegal organizations and for upholding fundamental principles of medical ethics. The PHR report says that the torturers cover up their acts by repeatedly threatening physicians with personal and professional repercussions if they report evidence of torture. Before making its findings public, PHR presented preliminary findings, concerning the extent of torture in Turkey and physician complicity in this practice, to the Turkish Ministry of Justice in October 1995. Acknowledgment of the existence of torture is a fundamental step toward this end.
Turkey is the third largest recipient of U.S. aid.
In recent years, its human rights practices have come under close scrutiny as the country attempts to gain admission to the European Union. These physicians examine thousands of detainees annually. PHR's interviews with forensic physicians indicate that some physicians observed evidence of torture in hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of detainees in recent years. The survivors of torture whom PHR interviewed include health professionals, human rights activists, lawyers, journalists, shopkeepers, teachers, students, taxi drivers, construction workers, street vendors, and others. The graphic testimonies in the report provide a compelling and consistent account of systematic torture in Turkey.