IHD: 38 Died in Prison in 2008

There have been 3 thousand 519 applications regarding rights violation allegations in prisons, said Turkey's Human Rights Association (IHD) in its annual report published today.

According to information gathered from applicants and media monitoring, a toltal of 38 people died in prison because of misconduct. More than 10 suicide claims are included in this sum. One in 10 applications to the association is concerning torture allegations.

1 602 inmates told of violations arising from disciplinary measures, 462 people complained of violations of concerning their health, 363 inmates applied against arbitrary obstructions such as ban on books and 323 were on restraints imposed on talking and writing in Kurdish.

Members of the IHD staged a press meeting before the Parliament building and announced their findings.(TK/AGÜ)