HUMAN RIGHTS

Latest News

• Colombian Ombudsman launches investigation into riots in jails 

  The demonstration ended with security forces shooting at prisoners, killing 23 and wounding at least 83.
• Frozen bodies of 12 refugees found in Van countryside 

  Bodies of 12 refugees have been found in the border area in Van countryside. Bodies of dozens of refugees are said to be buried under snow in the border region.
• Report confirms prisoners not given masks, gloves, disinfectant 

  MED-TUHAD FED and ÖHD have compiled reports on 12 prisons and denounced that prisoners are not given masks and disinfectants.
• HDP deputy Eksik: Prisoners must be released immediately 

  HDP deputy Habib Eksik said that all prisoners should be released, starting from political prisoners, to avoid the spreading of coronavirus in jails.
• 'Release all prisoners', 20 associations say 

  "The lives of prisoners who are sadly deprived of hygiene conditions in normal times and who have difficulty in accessing their right to health are in great danger because of the Covid -19 outbreak."
• Lawyers say prisoners in Van not living in hygienic conditions 

  ÖHD visited the prisons in Van and stated that the cleaning and basic needs of prisoners are not met.
• Human rights organizations demand release of prisoners 

  Human rights organisations in Turkey are calling for immediate protection measures for prisoners in view of the Corona pandemic. Turkish prisons are extremely overcrowded with 300,000 inmates.
• Italian prison riots appeal 

  Thirteen dead prisoners. Numbers – not even dignified by names – on which the Italian Ombudsman for the rights of persons deprived of liberty is now working. The prisoners died following riots erupted in the first days of the coronavirus crisis.
• Three political prisoners go on hunger strike in Giresun 

  Three political prisoners are on hunger strike in the high security prison in the province of Giresun. They are protesting against the confiscation of their medicines and disciplinary punishments.
• TUAY-DER warns of high risk in prisons as coronavirus spreads 

  TUAY-DER said that hygienic conditions are not guaranteed in prisons and that prisoners should be released immediately due to the coronavirus emergency.
• 33 bar associations call on government to release prisoners 

  There are over than 270,000 prisoners in 375 prisons in Turkish prison, according to figures released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat). Concern is growing because overcrowding may help the spread of coronavirus as it is of other diseases.
• Political prisoners in Amed not given cleaning materials 

  Political prisoners denounced lack of cleaning supplies and poor food.
• Prisoner on death fast tortured during 5 days of forced treatment 

  Lawyer Ezgi Çakır met with his client Mustafa Koçak, who was forced fed on the 255th day of his death fast. The lawyer said that her client was tortured for 5 days in Aliağa Prison campus hospital.
• Journalist with cancer to be released from prison 

  Kurdish journalist Devrim Ayik, who suffers from Crohn's disease and colon cancer, will be released from prison. The arrest warrant was lifted at the request of his lawyer, as Ayik belongs to the (high) risk group in the case of coronavirus infection.
• Jailed journalist: No Corona prevention in prisons 

  Kurdish journalist Nedim Türfent contradicts the government’s claims that preventive measures against the corona virus have been taken in Turkish prisons.
• Grup Yorum members on death fast finally discharged from hospital 

  Ibrahim Gökçek and Helin Bölek, the two Grup Yorum members on the death fast, have been discharged from Ümraniye Training and Research Hospital, where they had been held hostage for 6 days against their will.
• HDP MP Piroğlu: Forced treatment of hunger strikers is a crime 

  Prisoner Mustafa Koçak on death fast has been forcibly treated in Izmir. His condition is unknown, neither relatives nor lawyers are allowed to see him. HDP member of parliament Musa Piroğlu calls forced treatment a criminal offence.
• Report: 447 civilians killed by Turkish forces at Syrian border 

  The 447 refugees killed by Turkish security forces at the border with Syria include 83 children under the age of 18 and 56 women.
• Torture exposed in Manisa T Type Closed Prison 

  In Manisa T Type Closed Prison, prisoners who refused standing count were tortured. The Prison Director also threatened the prisoners with death.
• Doctors associations say Grup Yorum members experienced torture 

  ATO and TTB stated that two Grup Yorum members on death fast are subjected to torture.
• Solidarity with prisoners in Stammheim jail 

  An action was held in front of Stammheim Prison to express solidarity with political prisoners. The action was organised to mark 18 March, the day of solidarity with prisoners.
• Saturday Mothers remember murdered lawyer and doctor 

  At today's rally against the "disappearance" in custody, the Saturday Mothers addressed the fate of lawyer Metin Can and doctor Hasan Kaya. Both were murdered by the counter-guerrilla 27 years ago.
• Force-feeding hunger strikers is murder! 

  At a press conference in front of Ümraniye Training and Research Hospital, activists said: "The way to ensure Group Yorum members' health is not forced intervention, but to accept their demands".
• IHD's Çevirmen says rights of ill prisoners heavily denied 

  The decision by Aysel Koç, a ill prisoner, to end her life in Sincan Women's Prison a few days ago, has brought the issue of ill prisoners on the agenda again.
• Lawyers' associations: Image of shame at Turkish-Greek border 

  Lawyers' associations from Turkey have commented on the situation on the Turkish-Greek border and have voiced concrete demands as to what needs to be done in view of the disastrous situation of refugees.