INTRODUCTION
The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFT) has been giving therapeutic help to torture victims since it was established. Treatment and Rehabilitation Centers were established in 1990 in Ankara, in 1991 in İzmir and İstanbul, and in 1995 in Adana, for this reason. Professional and volunteer teams work to solve the physical, psychological and sociological problems of people referring to our foundation. 40 people have been referred to our centers in 1990, 238 in 1991, 393 in 1992 while 323 people have been referred to our centers in 1993.
This report, consisting of the 1994 study reports of the HRFT treatment projects, is prepared in Turkish and English, as in previous years, and has two parts. It’s prepared and published within the framework of the means of the HRFT Documentation Center.
In the first article of the first part, HRFT President Yavuz Önen evaluates 1994 from the human rights aspect and displays the awful situation of human rights in Turkey. I know that the desperate details of this picture will affect and move you deeply.
The second article in this part is a breakdown of the Foundation’s 1994 activities on health. This breakdown consists of information and comments about people applying to Ankara, İstanbul and İzmir HRFT centers with complaints due to torture. Totally 472 applications were made to our centers in the three provinces. All possible means of helping these people in physical, psychological and sociological aspects of their problems were exploited. We are now entering a period of intensifying our efforts to improve the quality of our services. We believe that such an endeavor has a medical, humanitarian, political and social justification.
The second part of the report presents scientific studies conducted by Foundation personnel and volunteers, in 1994. Some of the experiences and observations in treatment processes are converted to scientific data. One of our important aims is, producing more knowledge in the following period to augment the international reservoir of knowledge.
The HRFT has more than 250 general practitioners, various specialists, psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers, participating professionally and voluntarily in health projects. Medical activities of the Foundation and this report are the accomplishments of this group living in various cities. We are grateful to all health personnel who have contributed to this process, Human Rights Association’s Headquarters and centers, the Turkish Medical Association, and local medical chambers who have been supporting us from the beginning.