Rights Association: Handcuffed Medical Check Hinders Treatment of Inmates

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The Human Rights Association (İHD) Ankara Branch Prison Commission has declared the right violations in prisons in the Central Anatolia Region.

Based on a study analyzing from January 2017 to October 2017, the İHD in its report stressed that the violations have reached the peak with the State of Emergency.

Meetings were held in Afyon, Amasya, Bolu, Çankırı, Çorum, Çorum-İskilip, Eskişehir, Karabük, Kayseri, Kırıkkale, Sincan Women’s, Sincan Juvenile and Tokat prisons for the report.

Besides, applications submitted to the İHD, lawyer opinion evaluations and inmates’ letters were also included in the report.

Prisons in numbers

The report stated that according to the official records, there are 229,790 prisoners and detainees in prisons. The total capacity of prisons is 207,339, which means the capacity has been exceeded by 22,451 people.

The difference between the number of prisoners between 2012 and 2017 is 93,760.

Rights violations

The rights violations included in the report are briefly as follows:

- Stripped search

- Handcuffed medical check

- Not delivering books and magazines

- Banning some colors of dress

- Not delivering letters and other mails

- Not delivering medical analysis outcome of medical reports

- Letting inmates to the infirmary too late or not letting at all

- Restricting visiting hours

- Not putting the petitions into effect

- Verbal and physical violence against the inmates at their first entrance to prison. (AS/TK)