Soydan Akay has been imprisoned in Silivri No. 9 Type F Prison in a solidary confinement cell, in where he is in complete isolation. Akay is also amont he list of ill prisoners of Human Rights Association.  Akay was taken into custody in İzmir and sentenced to life imprisonment with the claim that he was "the responsible for the Aegean" for the organization in 1993. During his years of prison he has been sent to various prisons all over Turkey, including İzmir Buca, Aydın Nazilli, Diyarbakır, Siirt, Muş and Maltepe Prisons as he was finally transferred to Silivri Prison. Akay, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in June 2018, also has many diseases such as joint rheumatism, hepatitis B and heart spasm.

 

 

Veysel Akay, the lawyer and the brother of Soydan Akay, who refuses to have visits and to use his phone call right for the last 5 months to protest the impositions he encountered in prison shared the information regarding the prison conditions and the state of health. 

 

HIS MEDICAL THREATMENT STARTED LATE

 

Veysel Akay stated that his brother Soydan was exposed to heavy tortures when he was first taken into custody and now his brother is a 47 years old man, who suffers from prostate cancer. According to the information shared by Akay, Soydan Akay's medical threatment started so late after he was diagnosed with cancer, in the beginning of the coronavirüs pandemic he begun to take radiotheraphy in Okmeydanı Education and Research Hospital on March 2 2020.

 

"We can only trace the radiotheraphy was ended through the e-pulse app. Other than that we are not given any information. His immune system has weaked so much due to this heavy threatment. In addition to the prostate cancer, his hepatitis and joint romatism also weakened his body. Since his body can not take such weakening he has been having heart spasm almost randomly", said Akay as he explained the details of the medical conditions of his imprisoned brother.

 

HE HAS BEEN EXPOSED TO VARIOUS VIOLATIONS OF RIGHTS

 

Akay also shared information regarding the human rights violations his brother have been experiencing in the prison as follows: "As he was seen an 'exceptional' treatment in the prison, he experienced a disgraceful treatment which is a major violation of human rights. They also confiscate all his letters, the letters he sends to and recevies from other prisoners as well as the letter he sends to outside; he was either never given any of the faxes and letters adressed to him or he was given these after months they arrive. Yeni Yaşam nespaper being in the first place, he is not given any opposition journal or magazine. And again, al his documents of appeals and his official application files regarding his demands are either confiscated or never delivered to the authorities that my brother tries to reach his voice".

 

 

THE BOOK HE WROTE WAS DEEMED AS 'OBJECTIONABLE'

 

Akay also noted that the book his imprisoned brother wrote, named as the "Desert Flowers" and printed in 2019, were not given to himself in the prison on the ground the book was deemed as 'objectionable' to be accepted in the prison. As the book written by Soydan Akay was accepted in various other prisons, the very same book is not accepted by the management Silivri Prison where the write of the book is held.

 

ALL ATTEMPS REMAINED ONCONCLUSIVE

 

Stating that all their legal attempts they have been trying to file for his brother, lawyer Akay said, "As we speak with the Prison Management, they say this is an implementation of Ministry of Justice. All our attemps regarding to reach the Ministry have remained inconclusive. Our last appeal that we filed to Silivri and Bakırköy Offices of The Chief Public Prosecutor regarding the release of him due to the Covid-19 pandemic still remains unanswered. Silivri Office of the Execution Judge refused our appeal by the reason of "lack of venue" and sent the file to İzmir Office of The Chief Public Prosecutor.

 

HE PROTESTS THE CONDITIONS

 

Akay said that his brother has been refusing to accept visits from his lawyers and family as well as telephone calls since December 4 2019 in order to protest the conditions he has been held under in Silivri Prison. 

 

'I WANT EXPECIALLY THIS TO BE HEARD BY THE PRESS'

 

Akay shared the story of the transfer of his brother to Silivri Prison as follows: "When my brother was in Silivri Prison, he was exposed to the arbitrary applications of the Prison Manager, targeting especially him. I want especially this to be heard and announced by the press, because I have been struggling for these over the last 2 years and we have managed to take his file up to the minister. However, whatever we have done, we could not let them understand the situation. As they say the Prison Manager supposedly want to turn the other prisoners into agents and informants of the state and my brother, again supposedly, in the power to stop that, so as they say. The Prison Manager wanted him to be transferred to and put under isolation in Silivri Prison on the ground that he is the responsible of the prisoners of PKK. How do we learn all that story? After many attempts in the courts, in the DA's offices, in the ministry offices, we finally learned al these via our last appeal to the Silivri Prison. Silivri Prison authorities told us that it is the Ministry of Justice, who directly ordered my borther transfer to Silivri Prison. That is how my brother is kept under heavy isolation for th last 2 years."

 

CALL FOR THE AUTHORITIES

 

Akay raise the following call to the authorities: "The Turkish Ministry of Justice should terminate their completely unjust and arbitrary applications regarding my brother. I went to the prison in February and talked with the prison authorities. It was the Prison Manager himself, who told me, 'This is the decision of the Ministry of Justice, we can not do anything'. During the coronavirus pandemic each human being is exposed to the same risk and dangers and we want these inhumanitarian, unethical, speacial treatment and applications against my brother".

 

LETTER FROM THE FRIENDS

 

A letter has been received to us by the prioner Nevzat İçen on behalf of the other prisoners in Silivri, who are the friends of Soydan Akay. 

 

We share the complete letter as follows:

 

"According to the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) the ones, who are sentenced to life imprisonment, would be released as they complete 30 years in prison. And if there is no spesific penalty of cell given to them in prison, they are not held in solitary confinement and based on the conditions of the prison, they generally share a cell with at least one another prisoner. Other than some spesific unjust and arbitrary applications in various prisons, in most of the prisons this is what happens. Only the ones are kept in solitary confinement, according to the TCK law.

 

LEFTIST-POLITICAL PRISONERS NOT TREATED EQUALLY

 

This situation is not permanent and we will assign hims to a cell where his friends are kept, they said at the beginning, but years have passed and he is still in the solitary confinement alone. Our friend has been held in heavy solitary confinement for the last 2 years. You must be aware of the fact the many Hizbullah suspects have been released from the prisons to go on a re-trial, just on the ground that they had been on trial in the courts of DGM (State Security Courts: established under the 1982 Constitution by military government of the coup d'Etat). For some reason, none of any leftist-political prisoners have been able to use the same right. As we are not able to be treated equally before the law, we also experience harder conditions

 

HE WAS TAKEN ALONE FOR CONVERSATION HOUR 

 

Saying that they are going to take him out to the yard for the conversation hour, they tried t take him alone, as if they are making fun of him. Naturally, our friend protested such a treatment and refuses to go out to the yard. It is well known that a conversation needs at least s econd party. However, what they to merely aims to touch him on the raw. And they continued this application till now.

 

APPLICATION OF REVENGE

 

We have heard recently that he was taken to the hospital for chemotheraphy and brought back to prison. It must be clear for everyone, how one is so weakened and loses their physical power and endurance after chemo and how much support they need not only physically, but also morally. We were hoping that one of us could be sent to his sell to help him after such a critical matter of life and death. However, this did not happen. Regardless of all ur attempts, the prison continue their manner. This is explicitly an application of hostility and revenge.

 

HE HAS NO ONE TO ASK FOR A GLASS OF WATER

 

We are worried that our friend has nobody in his cell if he needs and asks for a glass of water. In such a critical condition that our friend finds himself in, that he is so weakened and has a great loss of energy, he needs to be kept also in delicate conditions of hygene. In such a condition that he is barely able to get up from his bed, how is he going the clean his cell and make sure of the hygene? We are worried that this implementation of torture may result in serious consequences. The authorities, who have been closing their ears to all our humanitarian and legal efforts seeking for a dialogue, will be the responsibles of anything that might happen. We want all of you to raise your voice against this situation regarding to our friend Soydan akay and also to raise solidarity to break the isolation imposed in him."

 

MA / Sadiye Eser