A significant portion of the letter written by prisoner Tolga Aydın to bianet from Marmara (Silivri) Prison was censored. In a departure from the usual redaction process, the sections deemed sensitive were not only edited but also entirely covered, with the photocopied pages sent in a single envelope.
The two-page letter was photocopied front and back, resulting in a single, censored document. It remains unclear whether this unusual measure is part of the austerity measures implemented in the public sector.
“I ask you to be a voice for Nurettin Kaya”
In the part of his letter that was not censored, Tolga Aydın was talking about the hunger strikes going on in prisons.
The part we were able to read reads as follows:
“Hello,
How often we hear the word hunger! People are being put to the test with hunger. They are forced to live with hunger.
Prisoners in many prisons resist high-security prisons with their hunger. One of them is Nurettin Kaya.
Nurettin Kaya has been on indefinite hunger strike for more than 190 days. He survives only on water, sugar, salt, and lemon.
In Erzurum High-Security Prison, he and two of his friends started a hunger strike to be transferred to prisons with ventilation and where his friends were.
While he was transferred to Bolu F Type Prison, his two friends are still in Erzurum Dumlu High-Security Prison. He states that he will continue his death fast until both of his friends are transferred. I ask you to be a voice for Nurettin Kaya...”
Cem Dursun, Oktay Kelebek, Rezzan Şengül, Vedat Doğan and Nurettin Kaya from the music band Grup Yorum are on hunger strike demanding to be transferred from high-security prisons to a prison closer to their families and for the transfer of their fellow prisoners. Cemil Kurt, Alişan Gül and Muammer Kaya are also on indefinite hunger strike for Nurettin Kaya's demand to be met.
(AS/DT)