‘A prisoner with no money cannot even send a letter’

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Eylem Yücel has sent a letter from the Sincan Women's Prison in the capital city of Ankara and said that the magazines and books that they buy or others send for them are not delivered to prisoners, letters are censored and even the letter she had sent to her attorney was read.

Her letter has also indicated that they have been banned from paying for their needs from another prisoner's account, adding that the prisoners who cannot make payment from a fellow prisoner's account and have no money cannot even send a letter from prison:

"While the people staying in the same ward could pay for each other's canteen, newspaper, electricity and letter expenses with their debit cards until February, this is now prevented. While the petition of the person who wants to make a payment for another person is not accepted either, a person with no money cannot even send a letter."

Except for their daily food, prisoners can buy their personal needs such as sanitary pads, paper, pen, glass, soap, underwear and cleaning products as well as other food from the canteen of the prison.

Moreover, they also pay for the electricity that they use and pay the post office fee so that they can send a letter.

In exchange for the money deposited in their personal accounts, prisoners are given debit cards so that they can use them for their expenses.

'Wards not disinfected for 3 months'

Yücel has also written that the hygiene measures that were taken at the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak have been dropped:

"While wards used to be disinfected once a week in the beginning of the COVID-19 process, nothing has been done in the last three months. As part of the pandemic measures, they started to distribute 500 ml liquid soap and bleach to each ward a month. The prison personnel do not pay heed to rules such as mask and distance; pandemic has turned into an excuse for usurping rights. As the number of personnel is low during the pandemic, letters and packages are not delivered, delays occur..."

(AS/SD)