This study aims to make visible the interventions carried out by law enforcement in streets, open spaces, private living areas, and unknown enclosed spaces by evaluating the timing, methods used, age and gender groups affected by the practice, and medical consequences, with the goal of assessing the public disclosure, legitimization, and spatial transformation of torture. Between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2024, 3,940 cases were reported to the Treatment and Rehabilitation Centers (TİHV-TRM) of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, and 723 of these individuals reported having experienced undocumented detention. 12.2024, who stated that they had been subjected to torture in Turkey, were retrospectively researched, including the stories of 723 individuals who reported experiencing undocumented detention, along with the medical evaluations performed and the data contained in the application files. This study demonstrates that unlawful, unmonitored, and unpunished extrajudicial detention, which goes far beyond the use of force authorized by international law and national legislation invoked by law enforcement agencies, continues to exist in Turkey and is increasing. It also shows that when the effects of unrecorded torture cases cannot be identified, diagnosis and treatment processes are seriously hampered.
This study was presented as an oral presentation at the 5th International 21st National Forensic Sciences Congress held on April 10-13, 2025.