Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag fiercely denied widespread allegations of abuse of detainees Nov. 10 amid mounting criticism from Western governments and rights groups. “Let me be clear, we will never allow ill-treatment or torture in Turkish prisons,” Bozdag told the semi-official Anatolian news agency.

Bozdag was responding to the European Commission’s annual progress report concerning Turkey’s increasingly unlikely membership in the European Union (EU). The report, one of the most critical in recent years, stated, “There were reports of serious human rights violations, including alleged widespread ill treatment and torture of detainees. The crackdown has continued since and has been broadened to pro-Kurdish and other opposition voices.”

Bozdag lashed out at the EU for not backing up its claims with the names of the alleged perpetrators and details on where the abuses occurred. “When I speak to these foreigners, I say give me addresses; they don’t provide addresses,” he complained.

The Turkish press is scarcely documenting the alarming spike in allegations of ill-treatment, as most critical outlets have been shuttered, and many critical journalists locked up on the flimsiest of terror charges. Yet, if Bozdag were to glance at the stream of allegations circulated via Facebook and Twitter or thumb through Human Rights Watch’s most recent report on the subject, he might revise his opinion that “There is no torture in Turkish prisons.” The New York-based watchdog cites at least 13 credible cases of torture since the attempted coup.