Prisoners Protest in Siirt

On Monday, 27 April, around 15 inmates of Siirt prison climbed onto the roof of the prison in protest.

Following talks with prison authorities, they ended their protest after around one and a half hours.

The inmates had shouted slogans such as “We will not yield to oppression” and “End Isolation Wards”.

According to Radikal newspaper, there are 600 inmates in the E-type prison. At 2.30 pm, Siirt Chief Public Prosecutor Adem Kul, Justice Commission President Judge Uğur Akbulut and Siirt Bar Association President M. Ali Özel went to the prison. The protest ended half an hour later.

Siirt prison had made the news in July 2008, when the requests of 77-year-old cancer patient Ali Çekin for release were refused. He then died in prison.

Frequent rights violations

According the Human Rights Association (İHD), which evaluated complaints in the first six months of 2008, there are frequent rights violations in the prison.

Because there is no doctor at the prison, detainees and prisoners have to endure four-hour round trips to Diyarbakır in unventilated vehicles, handcuffed.

The circular on visits for detainees and prisoners, written by the Ministry, is ignored. Letter writing in Kurdish is forbidden.

The report further criticises the living conditions in the group cells and notes that there are claims of torture and maltreatment. (EÜ/AG)