‘Roof leaks, insects crawl in prison’s quarantine ward’

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The Parliamentary Human Rights Investigation Commission has issued reports following their visits to the Tarsus and Kayseri Bünyan prisons.

The members of the Sub-Commission for Investigating the Rights of Convicts and Arrestees visited the Bünyan Prison on November 7-8, 2021 and the Tarsus Prison on November 12-13, 2021.

The report on prisons in Mersin's Tarsus has offered information about the Tarsus No. 1, 2, 3 Type T prisons, Tarsus Women's and Tarsus Juvenile prisons. According to the report, 1,236 people are held in the Tarsus No. 1 Prison; 1,155 people are held in the Tarsus No. 2 Prison; 1,146 people are held in the Tarsus No. 3 Prison; 382 women and 16 children in the 0-6 age group are held in the Tarsus Women's Closed Prison and 230 children are held in the Tarsus Juvenile Closed Prison.

5 hours in a padded cell

As reported by Berivan Altan from Mezopotamya Agency (MA), several violations in prisons have been documented in the report.

From the report on the Tarsus No. 2 Prison: "...some convicts and arrestees were battered as they did not allow detailed search at their first arrival; they were forcibly given a uniform haircut at their first arrival; they were forced to stand in a single line during the counts and when they objected, they were battered and taken to the padded cell in rear-handcuffs; a convict and arrestee [said that he] was handcuffed behind his back while his arm was broken and bandaged and made to wait in the padded cell for 5 hours..."

Referrals to hospitals

Prisoners held in the Tarsus No. 3 Prison said that their underwear were taken off during the detailed search and they were not given a sheet.

Regarding the quarantine wards amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the report has listed the following complaints:

"...that quarantine wards are in a very bad condition, there is not even a water heater and there are people who postpone their treatment so as not to go to the quarantine ward upon their return; the painting materials found in the parcels coming from outside are not given to them..."

About the Tarsus No. 1 Prison, the report has briefly said, "...there are problems with referrals to hospitals and access to healthcare services, especially for dental treatment; quarantine wards are in a very bad condition, roofs leak in these wards and there are cockroaches; four prison personnel took a convict away and battered him."

Water issues in Women's Prison

According to the report, "at the entrance to the Women's Closed Prison, women are battered because they do not accept detailed search; cold water is frequently cut, the ward is frequently flooded, hot water runs warm; diet food is offered, but not sufficiently; the prices of the products at the canteen are constantly rising; they are allowed to go out for sports only once in two weeks; there is one doctor at the infirmary; their handcuffs are not removed during blood-letting or radiography when they are taken out of the penal institution to a hospital; the questions are political when they are taken to the Administration and Supervision Board; and there is no consideration of whether the arrested person displays 'good conduct' or not..."

Examination in the quarantine ward

The members of the Parliamentary Sub-Commission also visited the quarantine ward and shared their observations:

"In the examination carried out in the solitary quarantine ward, it was seen that the conditions were very bad, the room did not have a kitchen, there was no sink in the bathroom, there was one tap in the shower and the person was to meet all cleaning and kitchen needs with this tap..."

Practice of detailed search

The report on Kayseri Bünyan prisons has shown that there are 416 women and 24 children in the 0-6 age group staying with their mothers in the Kayseri Bünyan Women's Closed Prison; 1,381 people in the Bünyan No. 1 Type T Prison and 1,427 people in the No. 2 Type T Prison.

Regarding the Bünyan Women's Closed Prison, prisoners have said: "...the detailed search at the entrance to the penal institution is against human dignity; when one resists the search, she faces brute force; there is no dentist and their dental treatment is not done; there are people who avoid going to the hospital as they do not accept medical examination in handcuffs; when a request is made for being referred to a hospital, it may take as long as a year; some convicts and arrestees referred to a hospital are insulted and threatened by law enforcement officers."

Dissenting opinion by the HDP

Fatma Kurtulan from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) has expressed dissenting opinions to both reports.

She has written, "Some prisoners said that their clothes were completely taken off and they were searched naked, five people attacked them and they were stripped with their arms and legs held, they were not given a sheet to cover themselves with and they were made to kneel and stand up." She has noted that violations will continue if this practice continues.

The MP has briefly written the following about strip search:

"A woman prisoner arrested in the Bünyan Panel Institution stated that she was harassed by a woman warden, the woman warden touched her intimate body parts, she made a complaint, but she was proven wrong and the execution of her sentence was prolonged.

"A prisoner said that s/he was stripped by 15-20 wardens and subjected to strip search and that her/his clothes were taken off by force. It was indicated that strip search has been in use in the Bünyan Penal Institutions for four years, some prisoners are left completely naked while some prisoners are left in their underwear and some are given a sheet." (AS/SD)