26 political prisoners in İzmir's Aliağa Şakran Prison launched a hunger strike on February 15 to demand an end to the aggravated isolation of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan and the human rights violations and physical and psychological torture in prisons.

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 inmates is impossible due to communication penalties issued to prisoners. The prison administrator or other officials cannot be reached to provide information regarding the conditions of the inmates.

Inadequate and low-quality food is given to prisoners, whose medical needs are not satisfied and they are forced to wear handcuffs when taken to the hospital.

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. A pregnant woman was beaten by male and female guards with whom she had a quarrel as she was searched during a visit.

Hunger striker Necdet Kaya's brother Hasan Kaya stated that the inmates joining the hunger strike had no other choice left in the face of inhumane treatment, saying; "Of course, they could not remain silent on the impositions they are facing under very severe conditions. The guards are always ready to assault and batter the prisoners. They do not leave us even for a while during the visitations, the duration of which has also been reduced recently. The hunger strikers are determined to continue their protest until it reaches its goal.”

PRISONERS ON HUNGER STRIKE

Şakran T2 Section: Eren Tekin, Sinan Ekmekçi, Mustafa Akaş, Cengiz Doğan, Necdet Kaya, Erhan Ergüz, Murat Duran, Kasım Özdemir.

Şakran T3 Closed Section: Zana Yaktın, İhsan Balkaş, Özgür Güçlü, Özkan Yaşar, Aslan İlhan.

Şakran T4 Section: Abdullah Aksu, Yusuf Özdemir, Roni Yavuz, Muhammet Bıru, Şivan Bilik, Ahmet Azad, Nayif Yargın, Veysi Kaya.

Şakran Women's Section: Hürriyet Doğan, Mahsune Şedal, Cihan Asi, Meryem Söylemez, Gurbet Öztürk.

DEMANDS

Below are the demands of the prisoners in Şakran where the hunger strike continues:

- 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 imposition.

- Ensure inter-ward communication.

- End systemic oppression in the prison.