Families continue their protests across Turkey in solidarity with their jailed children who are on hunger strike demanding the end of the isolation imposed on Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan.

Families have gathered in Istanbul on Monday to attend a vigil in front of the Bakırköy Prison in solidarity with prisoners and their demand. Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) MP Ömer Öcalan also joined the protest.

Police prevented the families from marching to the prison, stating that only those with a visitation right to their relatives in prison would be allowed in.

While mothers, fathers and siblings were allowed access to the prison for a visit to their relatives, other demonstrators were threatened by the police that they would be attacked and detained in the event that they didn’t disperse.

Despite the HDP deputy Ömer Öcalan negotiating with the police for a sit-in protest by the families, police insisted that the demonstration would not be allowed.

Families were attacked by the police after they started a march to express their demands. Several people were battered during the crackdown and 4 people were taken into custody.

Journalists were also subject to violence, had their cameras seized and memory cards deleted by the police.