Another suspicious death in prison recorded as 'suicide'

Photo: MA

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Kadri Ekinci, who had been incarcerated at the Diyarbakır No.2 High Security Prison for five years, was found dead in his cell on July 21.

Ekinci, 25, had received a sentence for "disrupting the unity of the state and the integrity of the country;" his sentence was not yet upheld.

Calling Ekici's family after his death, the prison administration claimed that he had killed himself, the Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reported.

The Directorate General of Prisons and Detention Houses said in a statement that Ekici had "attempted suicide during routine controls."

The authorities have initiated legal and administrative investigations into the killing.

"They laughed at me"

The family living in the Bağlar district of the Kurdish-majority province of Diyarbakır, said they don't believe that Ekici killed himself.

Netice Ekici, the mother of the deceased prisoner, said her son had been held in a solitary cell for nearly a year and once, his nose was broken after he was beaten by the prison guards.

Kadri Ekici's psychology had deteriorated because of the pressure in prison, she said. "They would not give my son his medication. They would not treat him."

Her son had called her to ask for money one day before his death, she said. "Why would someone who wants to commit suicide ask for money?

"One day later, they told me, 'Your son committed suicide.' When we went [to the prison], they asked us, 'Did you come for Kadri Ekici?' When I said, 'You killed my son,' they laughed at me."

Death threats

The guards had threatened her son with death many times, said Netice Ekinci.

"My son didn't commit suicide. Even if he did, he was driven to suicide by the guards. The guards did not intervene n so my son would be dead.

"When I told the guard, 'Get my son out of the prison,' they told me, 'There is no sharp objects, ropes, comforter, blanket, whatsoever, so that he won't attempt suicide.

"The guards had previously told my son, 'Kill yourself and so that we get rid of you.' Don't the guards check cells and wards? Didn't they see my son? My son was left for dead. The state is responsible for the death of my son."

"Cutting wrist with a broken arm"

Aydın Kayar, Ekici's uncle, expressed suspicion about how his nephew was able to find a sharp object to cut his wrist in a cell and how he cut his wrist with a broken arm.

"Because his right arm was broken, his face would be full of scars even when he shaved. It is impossible for him to cut his wrists while he was not able to do anything with a broken arm.

"It's not a suicide, they executed my nephew. We will not give up on this case. The sole responsible for this death is the state." (AS/VK)