20-year-old political prisoner suspiciously dies in prison

Reber Soydan, a 20-year-old political prisoner, was reported to have taken his own life while being held in solitary confinement at the Van Type-F High Security Prison. 

According to prison authorities, Soydan's father, Mehmet Selim Soydan, was informed of his son's death, which allegedly occurred by hanging in his cell.

Soydan's body was transferred to Van Yüzüncü Yıl University for autopsy procedures. The man had been arrested two years prior in Yüksekova, Hakkari, and was later sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment plus an additional 53 years on charges of "disrupting the unity and integrity of the country" for being a member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

This incident adds to the deaths within Turkey’s prisons, which have drawn international concern over the conditions and treatment of detainees. In 2022 alone, 78 prisoners lost their lives in prisons, with another 15 reported in the first five months of 2023, according to the Human Rights Association (İHD). Among these was Garibe Gezer, who allegedly suffered severe torture before her death, which was recorded as a suicide. (AS/VK)