Kurdish politician Gültan Kışanak, who has been imprisoned in Turkey since 2016, attended the funeral of her deceased sister Zeynep Özer in Elazığ a week ago, accompanied by guards, and was then taken back to the Kandıra high-security prison in western Turkey. It came out that the female politician experienced torture and inhumane measures on her way back to prison.

EMEP deputy Sevda Karaca Demir visited Gültan Kışanak, former HDP leader Figen Yüksekdağ and the deposed mayor of Dersim, Nurhayat Altun, in Kandıra on Tuesday. The visit to the political prisoners was also a condolence visit. According to Demir, Kışanak was taken away directly after her sister's funeral and expected to be brought back to Kandıra from Elazığ airport via Istanbul. Instead, she was driven to the Elazığ Prison without being informed. When she asked why, she was told that she had only been given four hours' leave for the funeral.

"Gültan Kışanak did not have her medication or other necessities with her and was taken to Elazığ Prison in the condition in which she had attended the funeral. At Elazığ Prison, she requested to be accommodated together with her friends, but instead she was forced to spend the night in a dirty room reminiscent of a camp. Neither her relatives nor her lawyers were informed of this. Only the next day was she able to make a phone call to her family, and the prison management declared itself not responsible. When her lawyers, who had been notified, were finally able to speak to her after hours of waiting, she was told that the gendarmerie (military police) had arrived for her onward transport. She was handed a food parcel and told to acknowledge that she had received dinner. This made it clear that her journey was going to take even longer. Because there was allegedly no flight to Istanbul, she was taken to Sivas in a prisoner transport van,” Demir said.

"This journey, the costs of which were transferred to the administration in advance, almost turned into torture. After a grueling seven-hour journey in a prisoner transport van to Sivas, Gültan Kışanak arrived at Kandıra prison at 3 in the morning. Such terrible treatment cannot be expected of any prisoner. It is both inhumane and unlawful to torture an elected politician in such a way, especially one who has just come from her sister's funeral and has experienced great pain. This treatment, which has disrespected her grief, endangered her health and put her family in deep anguish, needs an explanation. Those responsible must be named. We expect an explanation from the Ministry of Justice on this matter," said Sevda Karaca Demir.