ISTANBUL - DEM Party member Celal Fırat reported the rights violations against prisoners in Marmara No. 2 Type L Prison and submitted it to the Presidency of the Parliamentary Human Rights Investigation Commission.

 

People's Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Istanbul Deputy Celal Fırat prepared a report on the human rights violations as a result of his visit to Marmara No. 2 Type L Closed Prison (Silivri Prison) on January 29. 

 

In the report submitted to the Parliamentary Human Rights Investigation Commission, it was stated that "cries of injustice" were constantly rising from prisons. The report stated that human rights violations have become systematic and stated: "The AKP government does not refrain from implementing arbitrary torture methods that disregard human rights."

 

In the report, the rights violations experienced by prisoners include 24-hour monitoring with cameras, restriction of access to books and TV broadcasts of their choice, ill-treatment of ill prisoners, "arbitrary" restrictions on family meetings, ward searches, unhygienic and poor quality meals, disciplinary investigations, restriction of the right to defense in one's mother tongue, petitions and it was stated that there were a number of rights violations such as communication problems.

 

The rights violations included in the report prepared on the transfers of prisoners are as follows:

 

MONITORED WITH CAMERAS 24 HOURS

 

"*The cameras constantly monitor the prisoners' closets, beds, social life and door entrances and exits, that is, their private and public areas, and the monitoring of the areas that are open to guards' supervision 24/7 is far from proportionate, and this violates private life and confidential values and Prisoners, who say that they are monitored in the field and left in complete isolation, oppose this violation to the extent they can by turning off the cameras for these very reasons, but this time, the prisoners are given endless solitary sentences, and objections to these punishments are quickly rejected. 

 

*According to the decision made by the prison's education unit, which undertakes the RTUK mission, only TV channels that are 'accepted' by the society are allowed to broadcast, and among these channels, there are not even channels such as Halk TV and Tele1, which carry out the 'opposition to the order',

 

*Ill prisoners were given special treatment, there were delays in transferring ill prisoners to the hospital, family meeting days and the dates of taking them to the infirmary and hospital were deliberately arranged to coincide with the same date and time, therefore they had to postpone going to the infirmary and hospital, they were examined in handcuffs in hospitals, and sometimes Doctors didn't even examine them,

 

*Prisoners were subjected to inhumane treatment on their return from the hospital.

 

OBSTACLE TO THE RIGHT TO DEFENSE IN MOTHER LANGUAGE

 

*Prisoners, against whom disciplinary investigations are initiated, are often subjected to disciplinary punishments without their defenses being taken, because they want to exercise their very basic rights, such as the right to defend themselves in their mother language,

 

*The execution of solitary sentences in the prison was timed to coincide with family visitation days, and when asked about the possibility of these solitary sentences being implemented in a way that would not coincide with family visitation days, in conversations with the prison warden, it was stated that this was just a coincidence.

 

* Routine searches were carried out in the ward by correctional officers, all belongings of the prisoners were deliberately distributed during the searches, and the ward was abandoned in ruins,

 

*Family views are restricted by many arbitrary practices. Prisoners are told that they have the right to call on the phone for 10 minutes a week, but most of the time the phones are out of order, that although families request photos to be taken in public places, photographs are not taken, that there is a table in public places that prevents passage between the prisoners and their families, and that they have difficulty in making physical contact with their relatives. Cargo and letters of relatives were delivered to prisoners months later,

 

*Prisoners have written petitions to the parliament, members of parliament, the ministry of justice and institutions regarding prison conditions, but the biggest problem is that it is not known whether these petitions have reached the relevant people.

 

*There is great uncertainty as to whether the petitions written to the Prison Directorate are processed or not, and petitions have been made regularly for more than two months even for the sale of tobacco in the canteen,

 

*Writing petitions for even the most ordinary tasks is imposed on prisoners as the only solution, for example, it is said that verbal declaration is not sufficient even for repairing the handle of a teapot, repairing a faucet or increasing the amount of hot water usage and a petition must be written, and even the most basic tasks are left procrastinated.

 

LOW QUALITY FOODS

 

*The food is not of high quality, they have to constantly consume similar foods, the food is scarce, unhealthy food is constantly served, hygiene is not taken into consideration, the food often contains plastic, stones, etc. In addition, there are very limited types of products in the prison canteen and the sale of these products at exorbitant prices makes the prison conditions of the prisoners economically difficult.

 

*The hygiene conditions in the prison are inadequate, the existing beds are unhealthy, the blankets are quite old and unhygienic, the blanket and bed fees are high and there are not enough blankets in the canteen,

 

BOOK LIMIT

 

*Prisoners' information tools are restricted, access to Kurdish and various opposition publications is almost impossible and most publications cannot be accessed at all. For example, the books of Selahattin Demirtaş and many other authors are collected, there is a limit of 7 books, and although they read, the quota is not renewed and new books are not given.

 

*It has been observed that prisoners have the right to exercise 3 times a month, but it is not specified on which days they will do sports, they are forced to do sports in an area with pebbles on concrete that is completely divided in half, and many prisoners' feet are injured for this reason, and unfair and unlawful practices are experienced in the prison.