Ronahi Kalkan of Marmara TUAY-DER said that the campaign they run on social media to draw attention to the situation of political prisoners who are threatened by the coronavirus pandemic will be enlarged even though the law of execution has been approved by Parliament.

The coronavirus outbreak continues to claim lives all over the world as well as in Kurdistan and Turkey. No positive step has been taken to protect political prisoners in Turkish jails.

The calls and struggle carried out by the prisoners' relatives and civil society organizations aimed at ensuring the inclusion of political prisoners in the new law of execution.

Led by the Association for Solidarity with Prisoners (TUAY-DER), signatures and other campaigns have been carried out on social media.

Speaking to ANF, Ronahi Kalkan from Marmara TUAY-DER talked about the campaign the association carried out to make sure political prisoners were included in the law of execution.

"Prisons are once again ready to explode. Families have no news from their children. Prisoners protesting the law of execution are sent to other prisons and can't communicate with their families. When we finally speak to them, we are clearly very concerned. The prisons are places where living conditions are difficult. We wanted to empty prisons to respect everyone's right to life, no matter what the prisoner was in jail for. Our goal is to avoid deaths and to avoid this pandemic to turn prisons into morgues."

We need to ensure empathy and understanding

Kalkan continued: "Our aim is to generate a public opinion through larger and more effective campaigns. Of course, we are receiving great support. We want everyone to be understanding and show empathy. We look forward to people's support for our campaign. We defend the right to life, which is sacred, and we will continue to shout it until the prisoners are free. We will never give up. Although the law has been approved by the President, we will widen our struggle within a democratic framework. We know this is an international human right. So no matter where we are in the world, we will be determined to fight to achieve the respect of this right."

Campaign for political prisoners' rights will continue

Underlining that it is not possible to organise democratic actions because of the coronavirus pandemic, Kalkan added: "We cannot organised a protest or a press conference. For this reason, the bigger part of the work falls on artists, politicians, intellectuals and writers. We need to make sure our voices are heard in Turkey and Europe in order to achieve our goals. In this sense, we expect all politics, arts, unions, intellectuals, writers, press to embrace and support our campaign for a better future."