Iran Press/Asia: Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman on Sunday said Turkey was implementing a 'zero tolerance against torture' policy in response to Germany's call to remain committed to the United Nations Convention Against Torture, Ahval News reported.
Hami Aksoy, a spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry said: "Turkey is a party to all United Nations and Council of Europe conventions against torture and ill-treatment, and we have a 'Zero tolerance against torture' policy which has been meticulously implemented since 2003."
Following accusations of torture by Turkish-German journalist Deniz Yucel during his year-long detention in Turkey, Germany's Federal Foreign Office urged Ankara to comply with the United Nations Convention against Torture without specifically mentioning Yucel's name.
Yucel testified in Berlin on Friday as part of an ongoing trial against him in Turkey, claiming Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was personally responsible for the psychological and physical violence that he was exposed to during his time in a Turkish jail.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Aksoy added: "Allegations by the person mentioned in the statement were previously investigated by the relevant Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, which decided to not pursue the matter any further."
Aksoy went on to say the statements issued by Germany's Federal Foreign Office were "completely groundless".
After his arrest in 2017, Deniz Yucel was held without a formal indictment being filed until February 2018. He was released from pretrial detention after a year in prison, 10 months of which were spent in solitary confinement. He returned to Germany immediately after his release, the German-Turkish journalist continues to face charges of 'engaging in terrorist propaganda' and 'inciting the public to enmity and hatred' for his reporting. 208/211/103
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Journalist says he was tortured in Turkish prison
