The co-chair of the IHD, Eren Keskin, spoke about the situation in the women's prison in Batman, saying that "although the women are all elderly and have health problems, they are held in cells at 40 degrees without enough water."
The co-chair of the Human Rights Association (IHD), Eren Keskin, visited the women from the village of Bilêxşê in the district of Gercüş (Kercews) in Batman (Êlih) prison. The women were arrested on 13 July for "supporting a terrorist organization." The women were transferred to the M-type prison in Batman. They are elderly, ill women. Keskin told ANF that she is very worried about the dramatically poor prison conditions.
"The mothers were strip-searched"
Keskin was able to visit three of the imprisoned Kurdish women. She pointed out that the women were all of advanced age and had health problems. One of the prisoners, Emine Kaya, is 71 percent disabled. Keskin described how the women were stripped and searched when they were admitted: "They were forced to take off their clothes, which were then X-rayed. When we visited them, they stressed that they were particularly annoyed by this practice. They said that they were very ashamed and sad to be subjected to such an imposition."
"Water once a week"
Keskin warned in particular about the prison conditions: "The women are held in cells at 40 degrees without any cooling. They can only get drinking water once a week, and this water is not enough because it is extremely hot."
Keskin also visited two minors and four young women who were being held in the same prison. They were imprisoned for dancing Kurdish dances. They told her that after their arrest they were forced to listen to racist songs. The young women and minors are being held in the same appalling conditions as the older women.
"This is just cruel"
Keskin said the older women were arbitrarily arrested during a village raid. They were abused and held captive in a house in their sealed-off village for 13 days. They were then taken to the terrorism department of the police in Batman and were remanded in custody by the court for "supporting a terrorist organization."
Keskin said the mothers do not speak Turkish and continued: "These people are old and ill; the conditions in which they are being held are inhumane. This is just cruel torture. They could be put on trial without being detained. It is torture to make people who have already suffered so much persecution in their lives relive the 1990s."
