It has been reported that four political prisoners aged under 18 in Şakran Prison for Juveniles have been on a hunger strike for 20 days in protest against the arbitrary practices of the prison administration.

Chairman of İzmir Branch of TAY-DER, Dünyamalı Arıç, said in a statement that they have learned about the protest act of prisoners following visit the lawyers have recently paid to their clients in the prison.

Arıç said that the inmates reportedly went on a hunger strike because of the punishments they suffered from when they objected to an arbitrary head count by prison officials. Arıç remarked that the four political prisoners under 18 were kept waiting in the prison yard a day long and assaulted by prison officials as a punishment in response to their objection to the prison administration.

According to Ariç, the prisoners will not end their act unless the prison administration gives an end to arbitrary impositions and changes its attitude towards political prisoners.

Ariç noted that the mentioned prisoners have been denied meeting with their families for the last 20 days and called on authorities to display sensitivity about the prisoners on strike.