US embassy cable - 05ANKARA6060

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006060 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PREL, TU, OSCE 
SUBJECT: GOT: NEW LAW ON THE MENTALLY DISABLED WILL ADDRESS 
CONCERNS RAISED BY NGO 
 
 
1. (U) Summary: An international NGO issued a report 
September 28 asserting that Turkey's treatment of the 
mentally disabled is "tantamount to torture."  The report 
alleges that Turkish psychiatric institutions employ 
practices such as shock therapy and physical restraint in 
ways that violate international conventions.  A GOT official 
told us the report is accurate, but that the fix is on the 
way; he said a comprehensive law adopted earlier this year 
will address the problems.  End Summary. 
 
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NGO: Treatment "Tantamount to Torture" 
-------------------------------------- 
 
2. (U) The Washington, D.C.-based NGO Mental Disability 
Rights International (MDRI) released a report harshly 
critical of Turkey for its treatment of people with mental 
disabilities.  The report claims that state psychiatric 
institutions subject patients to treatment that is 
"tantamount to torture" and violates Turkey's obligations 
under international conventions.  MDRI asserts that Turkey 
lacks community-based support for mental patients and offers 
no alternative to state institutions where the mentally 
disabled are held separately from society in "prison-like 
incarceration." 
 
3. (U) The 81-page report, based on a two-year investigation, 
includes the following points: 
 
-- Arbitrary Detention: Turkey lacks an appropriate law 
establishing an independent judicial review for committing 
patients to psychiatric hospitals.  Therefore, all 
psychiatric patients in Turkish facilities are being held 
arbitrarily and in violation of international law. 
 
-- Improper Use of Shock Treatment: Staff at psychiatric 
institutions employ painful electroconvulsive shock treatment 
in ways that violate the European Convention for the 
Prevention of Torture and World Health Organization (WHO) 
standards.  Staff members apply shock therapy excessively, 
without using anesthesia or muscle relaxant, and also use 
shock therapy as punishment.  Shock therapy is used on 
children as young as nine, though the WHO has stated that the 
treatment should be banned for children. 
 
-- Malnutrition and Dehydration: MDRI observed children 
"dying from starvation and dehydration" in psychiatric 
facilities. 
 
-- Lack of Rehabilitation: There is a broad lack of 
rehabilitation and physical therapy in Turkish institutions, 
and many patients face deteriorating physical and mental 
conditions as a result. 
 
-- Physical Restraints: MDRI observed excessive use of 
physical restraints, including children tied to cribs and 
beds for extended periods. 
 
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GOT Official: New Law Will Address Problems 
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4. (SBU) We discussed the report on October 4 with Mehmet 
Aysoy, acting president of the GOT's Presidency 
Administration for Disabled People.  Aysoy flatly 
acknowledged that the report is accurate.  However, he said 
MDRI representatives failed to meet with the GOT during their 
time in Turkey.  If they had done so, he said, they would 
have learned that while they were conducting research in 
Turkey, the GOT was working to address the problems raised in 
the report. 
 
5. (U) Turkey's comprehensive new Law on the Disabled went 
into effect July 1 of this year.  Aysoy said the implementing 
regulations for the law have not yet been adopted, but he 
expects that to happen by the end of November.  The law will 
convert Turkey's treatment system for the mentally disabled 
from an "archaic" model based on large state institutions, to 
a U.S.-style system focused on providing direct support to 
families to enable them to care for mentally disabled 
relatives at home, he said. 
 
6. (U) Under the law, only the more severely mentally 
handicapped, whose conditions cannot be treated at home, will 
be placed in institutions.  The number of institutions will 
be doubled, from 700 to 1,400, so that today's large 
institutions will be replaced by 20-patient facilities.  The 
law will also establish regulations, consistent with EU 
standards, governing the commitment of patients to 
psychiatric facilities and the use of treatments such as 
shock therapy. 
 
7. (U) Aysoy estimated it will take two years to fully 
implement the new law. 
 
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Comment: An Impressive Response 
------------------------------- 
 
8. (SBU) We were impressed by the way Aysoy, a doctor of 
sociology and specialist on the handicapped, responded to the 
report.  Before we even contacted him, he sent a letter to 
the Embassy outlining the new law.  GOT bureaucrats usually 
bristle at international criticism, which they tend to 
attribute to political motives.  But Aysoy, who drafted the 
new law, calmly accepted the substance of the report, while 
convincingly arguing that he is doing something about the 
problem.  Still, his two-year timeline for implementing the 
new law appears optimistic.  We will monitor progress, which 
may serve as a gauge for the GOT's ability to undertake the 
vast number of regulatory reforms required by the EU 
accession process. 
 
MCELDOWNEY