Yilmaz Uçar was arrested in Van five and a half years ago on the basis of anonymous testimony accusing him of membership of a terrorist organization. He was severely mistreated in T-type prison in Van. Two years ago he was transferred to Konya together with five other prisoners. There the attacks by the prison staff continued. Several complaints came to nothing. For some time now, Uçar has been reporting daily mistreatment to his relatives. During the last telephone conversation with his brother Hekim Uçar last week, he told that he and five other prisoners had gone on a death fast due to the unbearable prison conditions.

According to Hekim Uçar, the prisoners in Seydişehir are ordered to pay homage to Allah during the morning roll call by chanting "Tekbir" [Allahuakbar]. "My brother and his friends resisted this, so they were constantly punished with solitary confinement and maltreated. A week ago my brother called and said that he could not stand it any longer and went on a death fast with five friends. He wants their voice to be heard."

Hekim Uçar calls on human rights organisations and the public to pay attention to prisoners and the conditions in Turkish prisons: "A day ago he called again, but the connection was cut off even before the conversation could properly begin. The last thing he said was: 'If I stop calling, it means that bad things are happening'. We are appealing to members of parliament and lawyers to investigate the situation in prison."