The IHD Istanbul branch issued a 3-month report on 21 prisons and said that 1,973 violations were registered. In the report, it was noted that the first of the violations was the isolation against Kurdish people’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan.
The Human Rights Association (IHD) Istanbul Branch Prisons Commission published its report on the prisons. Most jails are in the Marmara region and the report covered violations registered in the months of October, November and December 2022.
57 applications received from 21 prisons
The report underlined that it covered 21 prisons from which the IHD had received applications. The jails are: Silivri Campus Prisons, Kandıra No. 1 and 2 F Type Closed Prison, Kocaeli Prisons, Maltepe No. 1 L Type Prison, Edirne F Type Prison, Tekirdağ No. 1 and 2 F Type Closed Prison, Bolu F Type Closed Prison. , Silivri Open Prison, Bakırköy Women's Closed Prison, Gebze M Type Closed Prison, Bursa H Type Closed Prison, Erzurum Dumlu No. 1 High Security Closed Prison, Antalya S Type Closed Prison, Ahlat T Type Closed Prison, Sincan Women's Closed Prison, Violations in Adana Kürkçüler No. 1 T Type Closed Prison, Kayseri Bünyan Women's Closed Prison, Şakran T Type Closed Prison, Sincan No 2 F Type Prison and Diyarbakır Women's Closed Prison.
A total of 1,973 violations were recorded, including violations of the right to life, to health and treatment, communication, access to legal counselling and to a fair trial. Ill-treatment, beating and torture were also recorded.
Imrali, the worst prison in terms of violation of rights
The report listed the violations as follows: "29 violations of the right to life, 19 detainees were threatened with death, 2 detainees were forced to commit suicide, 2 detainees attempted suicide, at least 6 detainees lost their lives. 780 cases of ill-treatment and torture were recorded".
Refused applications by the family and lawyers of Kurdish people’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held in Imrali F-Type High Security Prison since 1999 under severe isolation conditions and who has not been heard from for more than 21 months, are among the most prominent of these violations. The report underlined that 33 applications submitted by the lawyers and family were rejected.
IHD calls on authorities to find solutions
IHD Istanbul Branch president, Gülseren Yoleri, said that the main reason for the publication of the report was the attempt to push " the authorities to come up with a solution". Yoleri said: "We call on the authorities to act in accordance with their responsibilities and put an end to these violations of prisoners’rights."
