A delegation consisting of executives from the Human Rights Association (IHD) and the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD) visited Batman M Type Closed Prison on 7 August. The delegation, which also included IHD co-chair Eren Keskin, met with mothers who were arrested for dancing the halay accompanied by Kurdish music and who were sent to prison following the operation in Bilêxşê, a district of Gercüş (Kercews) in Batman (Êlih).

IHD Amed Branch President Ercan Yılmaz, who was also on the delegation, spoke about the prominent topics in the meetings.

‘Young people forced to listen to racist songs’

Yılmaz said that women and children taken to the prison were subjected to strip searches at the entrance and that prisoners were forced to be counted while standing. Yılmaz added that four people, two of whom were children, who were arrested on the charge of “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” because they were dancing the halay and chanting slogans, were forced to listen to racist-nationalist songs while being taken to prison.

Yılmaz said: “There are investigations launched by prosecutors’ offices after nationalist groups targeted posts related to Kurdish weddings on social media. Hundreds of lawsuits were filed regarding these investigations, and almost all of them resulted in acquittals. The Constitutional Court (AYM) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) have repeatedly ruled for violations on this issue. AKP ministers and members of parliament have repeatedly stated how broad freedom of expression is, and that slogans such as ‘Bijî Serok Apo’ are not a crime in Turkey, and that it is considered within the scope of freedom of expression as a source of pride. The government authorities themselves were saying, ‘We did it, it was a crime before us, they were being punished.’ But today, we have returned to the dark times of the 90s.”

‘Feeling of revenge’

Yılmaz stated that the fact that the arrested young people were forced to listen to racist and nationalist marches in official police vehicles was a feeling of “revenge”.

‘Conditions are not suitable for mothers’

Yılmaz, who reminded that all of the mothers arrested in Bilêxşê were over the age of 65-70 and had many illnesses and one of them had a 72 percent disability report, said: “The other mothers also have daily medications for diabetes, blood pressure and heart disease. Prison conditions are not suitable for them due to both their age and illness. There is no air conditioning or fans in the prison where they are staying. They said that there was no refrigerator either. Prices in the canteen are very high. The mothers also said that they could not access cold water in this summer heat.”