'They put my 10-day-old baby in prison, she doesn't even have a name and ID yet'

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"My 10-day-old baby, two-year-old child and spouse are in prison. I don't even want to go to my house, open my door," says İsmail Özden.

His spouse Eylem Oyunlu and their children have been in prison for 10 days.

She was remanded in custody on June 17 for "aiding an illegal organization" as part of an investigation conducted by Lice Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in Diyarbakır.

Oyunlu, with her two-year-old child and her toddler, who doesn't have an identity and a name yet, was sent to Diyarbakır Women's Closed Prison.

"The judge went to the prosecutor's room during the break"

Özden filed a complaint against the Lice Public Prosecutor and the Lice Penal Judge of Peace at the Judges and Prosecutors' Council (HSK).

Before the decision about her spouse was announced, the judge, the prosecutor and soldiers had a meeting in the prosecutor's room, he says: "Why does a judge go to a prosecutor's room? Why does a prosecutor meet with a judge before referring [the defendant] to arrest?"

"When my wife was summoned, we went to the Lice Provincial Gendarmerie [Command]. She was referred to the Lice Courthouse. The prosecutor referred her to the upper court. We were at the courthouse from 5 to 8 in the evening. The court took a recess.

"What is her crime? She just went to her father. Our children were with us at that time. The 10-day-old baby was on my wife's lap. I tried to hold the two-year-old child. We are in a miserable condition right now. I don't want to go to my house, to open my door. Nobody is there...

"I am also worried because of the virus. My child is only 10 days old. My newborn baby had an illness. Her eyes wouldn't open. There was inflammation in her eyes. After giving a statement in Lice, I was going to take her to the hospital. She doesn't even have a name, an ID. They put them in prison.

"I have not seen my wife yet. Her psychology has deteriorated because of all these things, she can't breastfeed. She asked for her belongings from me. I brought clothes to her, put money [into her bank account]. They are alone in a room due to the quarantine. She says, 'The child keeps crying.' The two-year-old child was crying, hitting doors."

More than 700 children are in prison with their mothers

Emin Çoban, the chair of Diyarbakır Bar Association Children's Rights Monitoring Center, told bianet that there are more than 700 children in prisons with their mothers. It is legally possible to implement judicial control measures for these people in the investigation phase and postpone the execution of the sentences of the convicted ones, he added.

"It is a universal rule of law that arrest is the last resort even under normal conditions. It is also in the Turkish Penal Code.

"This is a woman going through the postpartum period and we are in a period of a pandemic. How necessary was her arrest? There are many judicial control decisions. House arrest, signature obligation, electronic handcuffs and so on..."

Sending children in need of their mother's care to prison was "against the law and conscience," Çoban noted.

"The decision to arrest is a reckless verdict. The country's penal judgeships and prosecutors of peace are acting very recklessly in this regard. The files coming from the district to the [provincial] center creates a serious waste of time. Every day is violating children's right to life.

"The prosecution, the investigation should be carried out independently, impartially, we have no objection to this. However, this decision is really heavy.

Attorney Çoban further said that while the mother and her children are in quarantine now, they would be sent to adults' wards after quarantine, which increases the risk of infection.

MP Gergerlioğlu: The law is not being implemented

Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, a Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputy and a member of the parliamentary committee on human rights inquiry, said that the law prohibiting the arrest of women who are pregnant or have a child younger than 18 months is not being implemented.

The pregnant prisoners face the risk of miscarriage and the judges who violate the law would be responsible for such cases, he added. (AÖ/VK)