The Human Rights Association (IHD) published its report on the situation in prisons in Turkey in 2022. The report was compiled on the basis of petitions to the association, regular reports from prisons and information gathered during prison visits. It records 10,789 violations across a wide spectrum. The number of unreported cases is likely to be much higher.

Figures in the report is just the tip of the iceberg

The IHD said: “The problems in Turkish prisons go far beyond the violations listed in this report and its appendices. It is not possible for NGOs to obtain information and figures to show the current extent of violations carried out in Turkish prisons as they are blocked from access and reporting. The violations in this report reflect only a very limited part of the current situation based on the data available to the IHD.”

In this sense, the report also criticized the lack of transparency of data on prisons, noting that the General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers does share certain statistical data, but not, for example, data on LGBT+ prisoners, political prisoners, foreign prisoners, sick prisoners, prisoners with disabilities and female prisoners with babies, not even deceased prisoners.

Wide range of violations

According to the report, the main human rights violations are the right to health, the prevention of release, social rights, torture and ill-treatment, discrimination, the right to a fair trial, economic and social rights, and communication and information rights. The report also pointed to numerous requests from prisoners to be transferred to prisons closer to their families, which prison authorities often ignore.

At least 81 prisoners died in custody

The report painted a bleak picture of the state of affairs in Turkish prisons: at least 81 prisoners lost their lives in 2022. Of these, 36 died of illnesses, six of them shortly after their release. The report also reported 25 deaths under suspicious circumstances, 19 alleged suicides and 10 cases of attempted suicide or stated suicide intent.

The IHD report highlighted that all of these prison deaths could have been avoided. The human rights organization calls for appropriate measures to ensure access to health rights and respect for human dignity and to protect the physical and psychological integrity of prisoners.

New prisons being built, overcrowding increasing

Overcrowding is a major problem in Turkish prisons. The number of inmates exceeds prison capacity, resulting in inhumane prison conditions. The number of inmates is constantly increasing. While the number of prisoners in 2013 was 144,098, on 3 July 2023 there were a total of 360,722 people in prison. The total prison capacity is 296,202. The occupancy rate was 97.17 percent in 2013 and 115.59 percent in 2022.

Right to life at stake

The report also addressed the poor health care provided to prisoners. Many prisoners with chronic illnesses do not receive the medical care they need. According to the report, as of April 2022, there were 1,517 sick prisoners in Turkish prisons, including 651 seriously ill prisoners. The situation resulting from the Covid pandemic in particular has once again made the lack of health care clear.

Violence and abuse widespread

The report also documented a number of cases of violence and torture in prisons and called for an end to the long-term isolation of prisoners, which can lead to severe psychological damage. Regarding the nature of the violations in this area, the IHD said that 1,852 violations were found in this area and added: “It is about torture and ill-treatment practices in prisons; Beatings/threats/insults and provocations, strip searches, searches of the oral cavity, constant roll calls, marching in military order, denial of the right to go outside, problems in the cells and in the wards, coercion to inform, surveillance of living quarters by cameras...”

The report also underlined the need to pay particular attention to the rights of women and juvenile prisoners, as they face particular challenges in the prison system.

The report also underlined that Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan has not been visited by his lawyers since 7 August 2019 and has not been heard from in any way for 29 months, no positive or negative feedback has been given to his applications for visits, and a new disciplinary sanction was imposed on 18 July.