The torture and rights violations in the Type T closed prison in Van’s Tuşba district have peaked. Ferit Hasçelik was tortured in Van Type T Closed Prison, which almost looks like it has been picked as a pilot prison for torture. Hasçelik called his family on Monday and informed them of the torture.

With Hasçelik’s call, his lawyer Dede visited the prison and shared the information he gathered on the rights violations with the ANF. Dede relayed the attack as: “On January 6, Friday, Hasçelik was transferred from Van Type F Closed Prison to Van Type T Closed Prison. At the entrance, the prisoners were forced to go through a strip search. The prisoners said they would allow a search, but a naked search “goes against human dignity” and didn’t consent to it. Then, the guards physically attacked the prisoners. After this attack, the prisoners were taken into a small room one by one and forcefully strip searched.”

“TORTURE A LA HEZBOLLAH”

Dede said his client was put in a narrow room and tortured: “When my client refused the naked search, he was subjected to violence and he passed out.” Dede said the significant part of the ensuing events was that his client was left incapacitated and continued: “He was handcuffed from the back, his feet were also cuffed. He was forced to kneel and the cuffs on his hands and legs were connected, in the style the public knows as the hogtie, from former Hezbollah cases. In that position he was forced on his back and beaten until he passed out. When he woke up, he was tortured in the same manner again. My client tells me he was completely naked when he woke up. On the same day, a group of around 30 prisoners transferred from Siirt were also subjected to the same practice.”

“ALL RIGHTS CONFISCATED FOR PRISONERS”

The lawyer said the naked search, the torture and other such practices are absolutely unacceptable and continued: “This is reminiscent of the September 12 period. We will make our appeals about the rights violations. My client will also press charges. We will have appeals to the chief prosecutor and the Ministry of Justice.”

Dede pointed out that especially after a state of emergency was declared in the wake of the attempted coup on July 15, the pressure increased in the prisons like on the outside, and stated that the Type T wasn’t the only prison in Van.

Hasçelik's lawyer said there are also Type F and Type M prisons, but these didn’t have the practices employed in the Type T prison. Dede added that the Van Type T Prison had practices that don’t line up with other prisons, for both male and female prisoners, and that the prisoners were deprived of all their rights, they weren’t given books, newspapers, television or a radio, and that the prisoners’ watches were also confiscated.

Dede said criminals were placed among the political prisoners, and that FETÖ members were placed in wards between political prisoners’ wards so there wouldn’t be a relationship between neighboring wards. Dede stated that the FETÖ members were treated entirely differently, that their every whim was catered to, even to the point of breaking prison rules. Dede said: “I have been to many prisons throughout my career of many years, but I never saw anything like this. All these practices show that there is a situation beyond the normal state of emergency procedures.”

"WARDEN WANTS TO BREAK THE ORGANIZED STANCE OF PRISONERS"

Dede stated that these practices were aimed at breaking the will of the prisoners and continued: “The prisoners are not allowed in any form to communicate with each other or even accidentally look into the eyes of a prisoner in a different ward. This is at such a point that the visitation hours were revised to be different for each ward so the prisoners won’t see each other on the halls. No joint activity is allowed. The prisoners can’t even play sports. The Warden doesn’t accept the representatives from the prisoners. He doesn’t want the issues voiced one by one.”

The lawyer pointed out the warden didn’t exhibit ordinary behaviour, and added that he had been the source of rights violations in Şakran Prison where the warden was on duty before, like in Van Type T Prison. Dede said the warden refused the prisoners meeting with their representatives and demanded the prisoners talk to him one by one.