The KONGRA-GEL Co-Presidency released a written statement expressing concern over the alarming conditions of political prisoners in Turkey’s prisons.  “As the collapse of the AKP-MHP government speeds up, violence in prisons is increasing more and more. Prisoners who are expected to be released are kept behind bars. Seriously ill inmates are not treated, they are deliberately left for dead. In the last month, 7 prisoners died in prisons," the statement said.

“This situation clearly reveals the true face of the AKP-MHP government. Everyone sees better now that this government, which promotes religious brotherhood, has nothing to do with religion or brotherhood but represents an ultra-fascism.

Garibe Gezer and Vedat Çem Erkmen were murdered by the state in prisons. The extrajudicial executions by the state during the notorious 1990s have now been replaced by executions in prisons. The contemporary form of fascism shows the seriousness of the danger to all prisons, including Imrali.

The prisons, especially Imrali, are resisting. Fascism attacks the prisoners to break this resistance. However, it is not getting results. The unbowing resistance of Garibe Gezer is the latest example of this.

It is the most strategic task for our peoples living in Kurdistan, Turkey and abroad, women, youth, and all democratic forces against fascism to realize this fact and bolster up the resistance front against AKP-MHP fascism and raise the struggle.

The peoples of Kurdistan and Turkey should embrace prisons more than ever. A recent prison report on human rights released by the Human Rights Association (IHD) clearly reveals the severity of the situation.

In order to stop the ill-treatment in prisons, our peoples living abroad should mobilise and urge international institutions to take action and expose the policies of AKP-MHP fascism through their multiple creative protests and activities.

We call on our people, institutions and peoples’ assemblies all over the world, especially in Europe, to play an effective role in this campaign to break the silence of international institutions and public opinion and to urge them to step into action against the AKP-MHP fascism.”