The committee of prisoners from the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and PAJK (Party of Free Women in Kurdistan) calls for mass actions because of the situation in the prisons, stating that Turkish fascism is on the defensive against social, political and military struggles and is now trying to take "revenge on the prisoners".

Remarking that the whole prison policy is oriented towards torture and murder, the statement by the committee of PKK and PAJK prisoners said: "The racist, fascist and Kurdish-hostile prison administration and the staff, which is composed of AKP and MHP cadres, have built up a comprehensive torture and murder system. Tens of thousands of our comrades are tortured every day and murdered one by one."

"Murders of prisoners have become a daily policy"

In the meantime, there are almost daily reports of new deaths from the prisons. "There used to be news of such murders several times a year. However, under AKP/MHP fascism, these murders have become a daily policy. The enemy wants to normalise these murders by making them commonplace and widespread," said the committee and called on the people outside to revolt against this, saying that only by fulfilling this "patriotic, democratic and humanist duty" can the killings be stopped.

"It is a debt of honour to protect the prisoners"

The committee warned that in the current situation no political prisoner is safe of his life, therefore no one should remain silent and mass actions should take place everywhere: "The families of the prisoners and our patriotic people, all democratic circles and institutions should know that it is a debt of honour to protect the prisoners and to translate their anger against fascism into actions on the ground". At the same time, the committee called for the expansion of "revenge and punishment actions" against prison staff to show the perpetrators that they would not simply get away with it.

The committee remembered the 68-year-old political prisoner Ibrahim Yıldırim, who died on 14 August 2022, ten days before his release from his illness, which had been inadequately treated in prison. Yıldırım had been captured in 2011 as part of the "KCK operations" and had been in detention since then. He had been on incapacitation certificates for five years due to a serious cancer illness. However, Yıldırım was still not released. Therefore, the Prison Committee of the PKK and PAJK classified Yıldırım's death as "murder" and stated: "On this basis, we commemorate with respect and gratitude all our fallen prisoners in the person of our comrades Ibrahim Yıldırım, who was murdered in Elazığ Prison on 14 August, and Mehmet Canpolat, who was murdered in Giresun Prison on 15 August. We offer our condolences to the families of these comrades, to all imprisoned friends and to our people, and reaffirm our pledge to carry their memory to victory and to take revenge."