(ANKARA) - The European Union and Turkish human rights activists expressed concern on Wednesday about a rise in the number of torture and maltreatment cases in Turkey.

Ulrike Hauer, the deputy head of the EU's office in Ankara, told a press conference at a prison outside the capital that initial reforms made by Turkey in 2003, prior to EU accession talks, had "very positive effects."

"However, cases of torture and ill-treatment are still being reported, especially during arrests outside detention centres and also in the context of demonstrations.

"This trend was further exacerbated by the passing in June 2007 of a new police law granting wide-ranging powers of stop and search," she said, urging an end to the impunity of perpetrators.

Speaking at the same news conference, activists from leading Turkish human rights groups backed the charges, saying the government's pledges of "zero tolerance" to torture were failing on the ground.

Allegations of torture and maltreatment increased significantly in 2007, particularly at demonstrations and in cases when people are stopped and searched and then let go, without being officially detained, they said.

Officers accused of torture are not properly investigated and the few who are eventually indicted are being charged of abusing power rather than directly with torture, they said.

"There is no serious will on the ground," said Emel Kurma from the Helsinki Citizens Assembly. "There is a state reflex to protect the country's image and a lack of courage to face the realities."

Kurma urged the government to draw up a national action plan against torture.

According to figures from the Human Rights Foundation, which runs EU-backed rehabilitation centres for victims, the number of applicants claiming torture and maltreatment increased from 222 in 2006 to 310 last year.

In the first five months of 2008, 112 applicants claimed abuse at the hands of security forces.

Turkey began EU membership talks in 2005 after a series of democratic reforms that significantly bettered its human rights record, including a notable decline in cases of torture.

But since then, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government has come under mounting criticism for slowing down the reform process and failing to properly implement the changes.

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