The indefinite-irreversible hunger strike started in Şakran Prison demanding an end to the isolation of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan and right violations in the prison has entered its 14th day.
18 political prisoners in İzmir Aliağa Şakran Prison started an indefinite irreversible hunger strike on February 15 to protest the isolation imposed upon Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan and the continued rights violations and physical and psychological torture in prisons.
The hunger strike is on its 14th day, with 8 prisoners from T2, 5 from T3 and 5 from the women’s department.
The Şakran Prison has turned into a systemic torture center and every day new incidences of rights violations and torture come to light. Families going for visitations are subjected to mistreatment and physical torture in the prison and healthy communication with the arrestees is impossible due to communication penalties issued to prisoners.
Families of Şakran prisoners are concerned. They are subjected to verbal and physical abuse on entering the prison and during the searches, and if they protest they receive monthly visitation bans.
The demands of the prisoners still on hunger strike in Şakran Prison are as follows:
“End the isolation imposed upon Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan. Give medical attention and treatment to sick prisoners. End standing on attention during roll-call. End mass ward raids by the guards. End guard harassment during visitation. Remove limitations from social activities and books. Remove the name tag policy. Ensure inter-ward communication. End systemic oppression in the prison.”
“SOMETHING URGENT HAS TO BE DONE”
Necdet Kaya is on hunger strike in Şakran Prison and his relative Ali Kaya said the prison started issuing communication penalties to the participants of the hunger strike, and that a committee should go to the prison urgently. Kaya said: “We heard that they will ban visitations. The prisoners will continue the hunger strike until their demands are met. The public should urgently be made aware. That place had already turned into a torture center. If they treat us violently, imagine what they do to them. Soon the prisoners won’t even be able to come to the phone. Everybody should do something about this.”
