Human Rights Watch has reported that Turkey's Justice Ministry will guarantee Kurdish detainees the right to access to a lawyer. The new law seeks to prevent torture by allowing those arrested to retain a lawyer immediately after arrest. The decision is being viewed as another concession to pressure from the European Union, just two days before the body released status reports on the applications of countries that have requested EU membership (Turkey's bid was noticeably absent). Human Rights Watch pressed for Turkey to take this step prior to the E.U. setting a date for negotiations on Turkey's membership.
