Ziya Ataman, a reporter for the Dicle News Agency (DİHA) which was closed by a government decree, was transferred on August 7 from Van High Security Prison to Erzurum Dumlu High Security Prison No. 2.

Ataman has been kept in a solitary confinement cell since his transfer. Explaining the problems he experienced in prison in a letter, Ataman stated that he was kept in isolation.

“We have been victimized even further in prison. Transferring someone residing in Hakkari to a prison in Edirne is another way of being isolated. We have encountered dozens of similar cases. There is an arbitrary rule in the prison. The High Security Prison I stayed in before had three-person rooms and inhumane solitary rooms for detainees and prisoners. But when we came here, they placed us all in solitary cells. I've been in a cell since the day I arrived, and I think it will continue that way.

The cell is very small, and I can barely breathe. It is not possible for us to see the sun, there is no opportunity to pace in the prison yard. I spend 22.5 hours a day in this cell. I have the right to take fresh air for only 1.5 hours a day. I hardly see the sun. In the meantime, the prices in the canteen keep increasing every day. We want our situation in prison to be known to the public.”