Mass torture in prison, villas on mass grave

Silivri Prison Complex is the largest correctional facility in Europe. (Photo: Ministry of Justice)

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Ferhan Yılmaz, a prisoner in İstanbul's infamous Silivri Prison, lost his life on Sunday (April 10), after being hospitalized.

The prison administration announced he had died because "his heart stopped beating." The death report prepared in the hospital, on the other hand, cited his cause of death as an "infectious disease".

However, a video revealed by a journalist showed he was severely injured in the hospital, apparently because of torture.

According to the allegations, the violence began on April 6, when 60 wardens tortured prisoners in wards, threatened them and attempted to force them to kill themselves. As a result, some prisoners reportedly attempted suicide.

Visiting the prison on April 14, the Human Rights Association (İHD) learned that all the 10 prisoners who had been tortured had been transferred to other prisons.

Read more on rights violations in prisons:

• 'Maltreatment, torture in Marmara Region's prisons doubled in a year'

• 'At least 59 ill prisoners have lost their lives in Turkey since 2020'

• A year in Turkey's prisons amid pandemic: Prisoners unable to access healthcare

An advertising sign of the housing estate project in Newala Qesaba. (Photo: MA)

Newala Qesaba (Butchers' Stream in Kurdish), is a site of mass graves in the southeastern province of Siirt, where many Armenians and Chaldeans were buried during the 1915 genocide and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members were buried in the late 1980s.

A new project including a housing estate, luxury villas and a shopping mall is planned on a 405-acre land, as nearby signs show.

The first excavation was carried out in the stream in 1989 and the bones of eight people were found in a few hours. The excavation works were stopped on the same day by orders of the governor's office. Since then, no work has been undertaken in the stream.

Raising concerns over the project, rights advocates call for "respect for the deceased" and say the bones of the people buried in the area should be unearthed.

In two separate interviews with bianet, Garo Paylan, and Armenian MP of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), and Prof. Ümit Biçer, a forensic scientist and a member of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV/HRFT), explained the issue in terms of human rights and the history of the region.

Human rights

• Jamal Khashoggi murder case After Turkey approved Saudi Arabia's request to hand over the case to the kingdom, the fiancee of the slain journalist filed an appeal against the related court verdict. Refuting the justice minister's statement that "I had no option but to approve the request," her attorney alleged that transfer of the case was against Turkey's laws.

• Why Turkey's minorities have not been able to elect their community leaders for nine years The government annulled the previous regulation for elections and has not issued a new one. April 30 is the deadline that was set in a human rights action plan. It is not clear whether communities' demands were taken into consideration. The current stuation violates the Constitution and the Treaty of Lausanne, say lawyers of minority groups.

• 'Turkey is also hard, but Syria is fatal' In İstanbul's Aksaray, a refugee neighborhood, we speak to Ferad, Ahmed, Muhammed and Hadje from Syria about how their lives have been affected by the economic crisis.

Freedom of expression

• A veteran stage actor and a veteran journalist were acquitted of "insulting the president." Both stood trial because of their tweets. "You do journalism for 54 years, and nothing changes [in the country]. Very sad, pathetic..." said Hasan Cemal, the journalist, in his defense.

• Writer Ergün Poyraz claims he was attacked for investigating irregular tender. The writer had a crack in his skull after the attack

• Turkey may block access to the Turkish services of Deutsche Welle and  Voice of America while Euronews has been allowed to operate without licensing. Turkey's media authority says these outlets should be granted a license to operate in the country, citing a 2019 regulation.

• Turkey's media regulatory body issued 1,661 fines against media outles in 2021 The RTÜK received over 44,000 complaints from citizens in a year. The most common reason for the complaints was about "violation of general morality."

Labor&economy

• Cheap labor and food inflation at the same time Turkey's government has intentionally pursued cheap labor policies. However, with the soaring inflation rates, this policy has become unsustainable. Hence, we may face more anti-democratic practices, argues economist Bülent Danışoğlu

• House sales to foreigners jump 45 percent in a year while people's homeownership rate constantly decreases

• While retail sales increased by 20 percent in February, food sales decreased. A survey showed half of the people in the country "eat less" to make ends meet.

• Health and Safety Labor Watch: At least 347 workers killed while working in three months in Turkey

Women&LGBTI+

"We Will Stop Feminicides Platform," a prominent feminist group in Turkey, is facing closure for "immoral activities." Petitions of complaint against the group accuse it of "undermining the family under the guise of protecting women's rights"

(VK)