Harmandalı Removal Center Told from Inside: Battery, Attempted Suicide, Illness, Death

Click to read the article in Turkish

"They were keeping a woman with AIDS on the high-security floor. The removal center personnel did not want to go to that floor because of her illness, she was not given food. She could eat something if another refugee woman brought her something to eat."

A security guard who wants to remain anonymous has uttered the above remarks with his voice shaking. He was referring to the Harmandalı Removal Center in Turkey's Aegean province of İzmir.

Last week, bianet reported on the allegations that a refugee woman was tortured in the Harmandalı Removal Center. The security guard working at the removal center has spoken to bianet and given important information.

CLICK - Refugee Woman Allegedly Tortured in Removal Center

'We are informed about inspections beforehand'

Indicating that the removal center has a 750-person capacity, the guard has stated that 1,500 people are held in the center, adding that the refugees are sleeping on the marble floor:

"As we were informed about the inspections beforehand, we would tidy up the place. We would remove the blankets of the ones sleeping on the floor. The number of refugees kept in that center is well above the normal.

'Woman not given food as she has AIDS'

"They were keeping a woman with AIDS on a floor that they call 'high-security floor'. No one wanted to give her food because of her illness.

"They were keeping this woman separately from everyone. As the officers did not want to bring her food to her floor, another refugee woman gave her food. The woman with AIDS was sleeping on the floor in the place where she was kept. She was not allowed to meet or see anybody, either. They deported her afterwards, but I do not know which country she was sent to.

"As it is a deportation area, the doors were not opened in the morning. The doors of the rooms were never opened in winter months. As it was very hot in summer, the doors of rooms were opened at certain hours.

"Six people had to stay in 10-square meter rooms. The ones who would be deported from Turkey were imprisoned in these rooms for six months. As refugees could not speak the languages of one another, they became mentally depressed. They wanted to be deported immediately. The ones who did not want to go were deported as well.

'Refugees battered in rooms without cameras'

"As several refugees are kept in the same place, rows erupt all the time.

"The number of officers is not sufficient, either. There are at least 25-26 officers in a shift. And it is very difficult for them to deal with refugees. When they had a row, some wardens sometimes crossed the line of battery in front of security cameras. Two people who crossed the line are now in prison.

"But, generally, wardens would batter refugees in places where there were no cameras. The battery could not be proven there, either. The working hours of wardens are quite bad as well. As they would work for long hours, they also became mentally depressed."

'Some refugees jumped out of broken windows'

Raising concerns over the attempted suicides of the ones who do not want to be deported from Turkey, the guard has further stated:

"One day, a refugee came and cut herself. She did it because she did not want to be deported. Several windows of the building are broken. They want to jump out of these broken windows. The ones who do not want to be deported want to be taken by force."

'African woman's cause of death not investigated'

Concluding his remarks, the guard has indicated, "An African refugee woman died. Everyone thought that she fainted from heat. The death of the woman was written down in the minutes as a 'natural death.' The African woman's cause of death was not investigated." (EMK/SD)

* This news article has been jointly published with Fırat Yeşilçınar from the Artı Gerçek news website.