Arrested in 1999, Polattas says she and her friend, Ceren Salmanoglu, then aged 16, confessed to being PKK members only after they were beaten, sprayed with freezing water and raped with a truncheon during eight days of interrogation. Salmanoglu was sentenced to 21 years. Polattas and the other defendants at the conference were the first women to speak out about police rape. Women rarely talk of their ordeal, afraid they will worsen their situation by violating laws that restrict freedom of expression when it comes to the honour and reputation of Turkey's security forces. Polattas's trial highlights Turkey's difficult struggle to clean up its human rights record as it prepares for European Union membership.
Turkey is a country that two days ago promised human rights for all.
Sultan Secik, one of Polattas's co-defendants, asked the court. The eight police officers Secik accuses of raping her are currently on trial. International human rights groups have condemned the trial of the rape victims. In a statement, Amnesty International said it had 'cled on the Turkish authorities to drop the charges against these women's rights activists who are guilty only of peacefully expressing their views'. Turkey admits that torture occurs, but says it is not systematic.