Following the ill treatment and torture of child prisoners in the Van M Type Prison, another scandal has emerged. Children have told their lawyers that people in the prison are trying to indoctrinate them by telling them to join ISIS.
Following the ill treatment and torture of child prisoners in the Van M Type Prison, another scandal has emerged. Children have told their lawyers that people coming to the prison on the pretext of giving courses in hairdressing and other subjects are trying to indoctrinate them by telling them to join ISIS.
Lawyers and executives of the TUYAD-DER association who met child prisoners held a press conference at the association. TUYAD-DER president Ahmet Aygün said that child inmates were being subjected to indoctrination at the prison.
Aygün said that G. S., who it has been alleged was beaten by police with their rifle butts and sexually abused, had told them men in religious clothing and beards had come into the prison under the guise of giving courses and told them to join ISIS as it was fighting for Islam.
Aygün added that G.S. had told them he had suffered physical, psychological and sexual abuse while in police custody. Aygün said other child inmates had given them similar accounts.
‘Rights violations are continuing’
Aygün continued, saying that when children arrived at the prison they were given dirty mattresses and rough blankets, which caused illness. “Although visits should be for one hour they are being limited to 30 minutes. Child prisoners are also being subjected to violence by adult common offenders. When taken to hospital or court they are subjected to strip searches and suffer physical and verbal abuse from soldiers."
‘We will continue to pursue these cases’
Aygün said they would not remain silent in face of this brutality and would continue to pursue the cases. Lawyer Cihan Yaman said that the children were suffering great trauma and called on the Ministry of Justice to make a statement regarding the problems in the prisons.
