İHD Demands Investigation Of Human Rights Violations In Bitlis, Siirt, Erzurum Prisons
Diyarbakır Branch of the Human Rights Association (İHD) has announced that Ahmet Kırboğa, who has applied to them countless times for having been badly treated and tortured in Bitlis Prison, was insulted and threatened by the soldiers during his transfer to Erzurum H Type Prison on July 11, 2008.
He was undressed naked; he was given food, but no spoon
According to the İHD, Kırboğa was undressed naked, subjected to bad treatment by the prison officials, kept in his cell for three days, not given sheet and blanket although he was cold, and his items of personal hygiene such as toothbrush, soap, detergent and towel were not returned to him although they were in his bag.
There were 174 applications to İHD’s Diyarbakır branch and all the other branches in the eastern and southeastern Turkey in the first six months of year 2004 for bad treatment. These applications were 191 in the first six months of 2005, 242 in the first six months of 2006, 172 in the first six months of 2007 and 434 in the first six months of 2008.
The human rights violations in Bitlis, Siirt and Erzurum should be investigated
Emphasizing the increase in the figures about torture and bad treatment, the İHD says, “We, the human rights defenders, want an investigation especially about the increase in human rights violations in Bitlis, Siirt and Erzurum prisons in Eastern Turkey. However, they also add that they have so far gotten no results to their inquiries.
İHD’s Diyarbakır branch calls upon Bitlis, Siirt and Erzurum Chief Prosecutors, the government of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) who declares “zero tolerance to torture”, the Parliament and every institution and organization concerned with the subject to launch an investigation by sending inspectors to these prisons. (NZ/TB)