VAN - Stating that the violations of rights in prisons jeopardize the lives of the prisoners, attorney Nedim Sarısaç said: "The violations have reached such a level that  the prisoners has no life safety in prisons"

 

In Turkey, practices including torture and violations of rights in prisons have reached dimensions that violate the right to life. According to the data of the Human Rights Association (İHD); At least 76 prisoners lost their lives in 2022 due to violations of rights in prisons. The number of ill prisoners whose releases were prevented increased to 1,600.

 

Lawyer Nedim Sarısaç, Member of the Prison Commission of the İHD Van Branch, made evaluations about the violations that threaten the right to life of the prisoners.

 

THE VIOLATIONS OF RIGHTS ARE INCREASING DAY BY DAY

 

Stating that they observed that the violations of rights in prisons are increasing day by day as a result of their work, Sarısaç said: "In our studies, prisoners are deprived of their right to health, they are not transferred to hospitals or they are made late, the food is scarce or some meals are too bad to eat, water quota is applied, some guards provoked them. Many problems and troubles were detected, from their offensive approach, not broadcasting in Kurdish, to the confiscation of their own radios. Again, the arbitrary search of the wards by the prison administration can be cited among these rights violations. One of the most important violations of rights is not to release the prisoners who have completed their execution. When we look at the number of prisoners who lost their lives last year, it is displayed that the prisoners has no life safety in prisons."

 

ISOLATION WITHIN ISOLATION 

 

Pointing out that there is isolation within the prisons, Sarısaç said: “Even the corridors and air-conditioning areas that the prisoners used in common are prohibited. These prohibitions are not even in your own laws. So they don't follow their own laws. What is applied to prisoners in prisons is completely against both national and international laws. The prison administration carries out these practices with the instructions of the government. No prison administration can act according to its own mind. In particular, there is an institution called the Forensic Medicine Institute (ATK). This institution acts according to the directives of the government. ATK can issue a report of "remain in prison" to a prisoner who cannot continue his life in prison, contrary to the law. In other words, it gives reports according to the instructions of the government, not according to the law.”

 

Stating that according to their findings, there are 1,517 ill prisoners, 651 of whom are seriously ill, in prisons, Sarısaç said: “These ill prisoners cannot fully benefit from health services, especially hospital referrals. Even people aged 80-90 are held in prison and almost tortured. They are literally waiting for them to die. Isolation is the basis of all existing practices. The isolation in Imrali Prison is being practiced in its heaviest form in all prisons today.”