Engin Çeber

Çeber was arrested in 2008 after he criticized authorities for not investigating or punishing police officers for the shooting and paralyzing of a left-wing activist.[2][3] He was sent to a prison in Istanbul, where he was severely beaten. After complaining to his lawyer, he was sent to a hospital, where he fell into a coma, dying of a brain hemorrhage on October 8.[2] Amnesty International criticized Turkey's human rights record arguing that the death is "further proof that torture and ill-treatment are rife in places of detention in Turkey", despite the government "zero-tolerance" against torture.[2] Shortly after Çeber's death, Mehmet Ali Sahin, Turkey's justice minister apologized and announced that 19 officials were suspended pending investigation.[2]

In October 2011, four officials received life sentences for their role in Ceber's death. However, this verdict was overturned by the Supreme Court of Appeals, which ruled that the sharing of a lawyer by the defendants had interfered with their right to a free trial.[4] Sixty defendants were then retried. In the verdict of the second case on 2 October 2012, two prison guards and their supervisor were convicted of having tortured Çeber to death and given life sentences. Nine other officials also received prison sentences for their roles.[1] Amnesty International hailed the verdict as "a historic moment for justice in the country".[4]