Following the news that emerged in the media about the isolation of pregnant girls under the age of 18 in cells in Şakran Prison, more details have come out regarding measures that may endanger their lives.

According to the reports of lawyers who assessed the situation in the prison, 3 children, 2 of whom are pregnant, are held in cells that are raided at night by prison officers. The lawyers also reported that women with children are not provided hot water even for preparing baby formula, and the pregnant women who need to see a doctor are told that there has to be a minimum of 6 sick persons to have a vehicle that will drive them to hospital.

The DIHA News Agency revealed recently that 3 pregnant girls under the age of 18 were kept in single person cells in Sakran Prison. Following the news, HDP deputy and Izmir candidate in the upcoming elections, Ertugrul Kurkcu, representatives of TAY-DER, ÖHD and CHD went to Sakran Prison to observe and assess the situation. While the HDP deputy Kurkcu left the prison after the meeting with the prison administration, the lawyers continued to interview the children.

The lawyers made a statement after they left the prison and reported that the women, particularly the pregnant ones and the children, suffer from many of the measures implemented in the prison. Fatma Demirel, a lawyer from the Izmir branch of the ÖHD, said that pregnant women are not allowed to see a doctor by the prison administration. Demirel also reported that 5 pregnant women are kept in cells which are designed normally for 3 persons and that 2-3 persons have to use one bed in the cells.

Demirel said the prisoners told them that the cells are raided by the prison officers during the night, adding that pregnant women who need to see a doctor each month are not taken to the hospital, while women with the children are not provided with hot water to prepare baby formula. Demirel mentioned a 17 year-old girl who has a baby of 8 months and who has to prepare baby food with cold water from the tap, adding that the baby has not been taken to the hospital despite her being ill with intense coughing since last Friday.

Erdoğan Akdoğdu, a lawyer from the ÇHD, said the prison director called the prison a 4-star hotel while the reality in the prison where there are rights violations was far from that being the case, adding that the prison administration prefers to blame the victims, the prisoners, for what has been happening in the prison. Akdogdu reported his interview with 7-months pregnant N.G, who said that she was not taken to the hospital for her monthly check-up on the grounds that a vehicle of the state cannot be provided for one person alone.

Akdoğdu mentioned the situation of 19-year-old Hanım Dudu, who is kept in a one-person cell for allegedly suffering from psychological problems, while she does not have a medical report of her problem.

Akdoğdu added that an investigation has been initiated into a prison officer named Gönül Ateş on complaints filed by political women prisoners for not taking the girls to the hospital.