‘There is Battery in Prison’ Expression Found Rude by Speaker’s Office

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Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Dersim MP Alican Önlü has released a written statement regarding the rejection of his parliamentary questions by the Speaker's Office of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM).

The last rejected parliamentary question of the MP was submitted on November 27, 2018. The parliamentary question, which demanded that a parliamentary investigation be launched into the violations of rights faced by political prisoners held in Elazığ Prison, was rejected by the Speaker's Office on the ground that it contained "rude and hurtful remarks."

"Rude and hurtful remarks"

In the official letter of rejection signed by Parliamentary Speaker Binali Yıldırım, it was indicated that the statement of "There has been a marked increase in practices of torture, ill treatment and harassment against political prisoners and convicts in recent years" as well as the expressions of "enforced naked body search" and "being subjected to battery and ill treatment" contain "rude and hurtful remarks."

"Though the Speaker's Office does not accept..."

HDP Dersim MP Önlü has released a written statement regarding his rejected parliamentary questions. Önlü has stated,

"Even though the Speaker's Office does not accept it, political prisoners are subjected to torture, maltreatment and harassment in almost every prison in Turkey every day.

"Whom do these remarks hurt? Do they hurt the Speaker's Office? Do they hurt the prison administration? Do they hurt the bureaucrats of the Justice and Development Party (AKP)? Don't you realize that you are being a party to the same crime by rejecting and returning my parliamentary questions?

"Are you aware that you are protecting torturers and harassers and disregarding the law by behaving like that?"

Stating that "the attitude of the Speaker's Office does deprive the MPs of their right to exercise active supervision", Önlü has added, "They are openly saying to us 'Don't tell our faults to our face'." (AS/SD)