‘21 prisoners live in a ward for 7’

* Photo: İHD

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The Ankara Branch of Human Rights Association (İHD) has prepared a report regarding the violations of rights in prisons in Central Anatolia in the three month period of October-November-December 2020.

According to the report, 9 prisoners in total lost their lives in 18 prisons in the region while at least 24 prisoners were subjected to torture and/or ill treatment. While four of the deceased lost their lives due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), two allegedly committed suicide and the other deaths were caused by other diseases.

The family of prisoner Serkan Tumay, who allegedly committed suicide, announced that there were signs of trauma on his body.

The report of the rights group covers the following prisons in Central Anatolia: Aksaray Type T, Amasya Type E, Bolu Type F, Düzce Type T, Karabük Type T, Kayseri No.1 Type T, Kayseri No.2 Type T, Kayseri Women's, Keskin Type T, Kırıkkale Type F, Kırşehir Types E T, Sincan Women's, Sincan No.1 Type F, Sincan No.1 Type L, Sincan No.2 Type L, Sincan Type T, Sivas Open and Sivas Type E Closed Prisons.

According to the İHD report, there are at least 284 ill arrestees in these prisons; while 46 of them are women, 98 are seriously ill.

'Prisoner caught COVID-19 during treatment'

Some of the rights violations documented in the report are as follows:

* Prisoners stay in extremely crowded wards.

* They are transferred in one-person transfer vehicles in unhealthy conditions, which especially affects the health of cardiac, asthma and epilepsy patients.

* Prisoners undergo medical examination in handcuffs; they are referred to hospital in handcuffs.

* Ill prisoners are sent to infirmary late; they are also referred to hospital late or they are not referred at all. The prisoners of Afyon Type T Prison indicated that the prison personnel looked through the loophole to decide whether they needed to go to the infirmary or not.

* The requests of some ill prisoners for deferment of the execution of their sentences are rejected.

* Taking a political stance, the Forensic Medicine Institution do not give reports indicating that the prisoner is not in a state to stay in prison; the reports of full-fledged hospitals and university hospitals are not accepted; the execution of seriously ill prisoners' sentences is not deferred.

* The needs of some prisoners for diet meals are not met.

* The prisoners who have psychological problems to the extent that they cannot care for themselves are not released.

* Despite the COVID-19 risk, prisoners are not given sufficient amounts of hygiene products and masks.

* The dental treatment of prisoners is not undertaken; it is reported that their implant treatments were interrupted though they had paid for it.

* A woman prisoner was infected with coronavirus twice while she was being referred to hospital; she was treated at the hospital in the first case, but treated in prison without being taken to hospital in the second.

* The needs for hot water are not met in some prisons.

* In Sivas Open Prison, women prisoners are reportedly infected with COVID-19; their needs for hot water and canteen facilities are not met.

* A prisoner was handcuffed to the hospital bed throughout his stay in the hospital for 15 days; he has back pain as a result of it.

* Some prisoners are held in one-person wards even though they are not given "aggravated life sentences".

* It has been reported that two prisoners in Afyon were bastinadoed and one person went on a hunger strike for this reason; prisoners keep on being beaten and some of them are bastinadoed.

* Two prisoners said that they had been insulted.

* Four prisoners were reportedly forced to be counted on foot and battered in Aksaray Type T Closed Prison.

* One woman prisoner said that she was subjected to a severely ill treatment; underwent a strip search; she wanted to take off her clothes on her upper body or lower body first, but this request was not taken into consideration and she was made to take off all her clothes; she was searched naked by being made to sit down and stand up and pushing for 5-6 times; and the officers then searched her body with their hands.

* It has been reported that a prisoner named Halit Tunga does not know Turkish or Kurdish and there is no one, apart from himself, who speaks Arabic in the ward, he cannot communicate with anyone and they are trying to understand each other with gestures.

* Prisoners in Tokat have indicated that one of the three wards for 7 people was closed and the prisoners there were placed in the two other wards; they are now forced to live with 20-21 people in wards for 7. (AS/SD)