Turkish troops attacked families of political prisoners

The Turkish military police (gendarmerie) have confronted relatives of political prisoners who wanted to make a statement in front of the prison in Patnos in solidarity with hunger strikes against the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan.

A heavily armed gendarmerie unit confronted the families and relatives of political prisoners who gathered in front of Patnos L-type Prison to draw attention to the massive hunger strike and death fast actions in prisons demanding the end of the isolation regime executed against Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan.

The group also included HDP deputies Abdullah Koç and Mensur Işık. When the two parliamentarians identified themselves as MPs, a ranking officer called them “deputies of Qandil”.

While the gendarmerie forces surrounded the crowd and attacked them with a water cannon, the families protested the attack chanting "Bijî berxwedana zindana" [Long live the prison resistance].

Mothers of political prisoners who spoke Kurdish to each other were pushed and threatened by a specialized sergeant.

Despite the attack, MPs and families made a statement calling for the lifting of isolation. Subsequently, the soldiers harassed the journalists in the area and subjected them to criminal record check.