Letter from 30 prisoners: Kurdish books, songs and halay are prohibited

2023-10-27 12:45:15


	 

	ISTANBUL - In the letter sent to CİSST by 30 prisoners in Sincan No. 1 Prison, it was stated that Kurdish books were not given and that singing Kurdish songs and dancing halay were prohibited.

	 

	30 prisoners, who were sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment in Sincan No. 1 Prison, which is always on the agenda with rights violations, wrote a letter containing the violations experienced in the prison and sent it to the Civil Society Association in the Penal System (CİSST). Prisoners stated that taking air hours were very limited, the place of taking air was dirty, prison corridors were dirty and not cleaned, and the food was unhealthy, of poor quality and in small quantity.

	 

	TRANSLATOR FEE FOR KURDISH BOOK!

	 

	The prisoners stated that they were not given the Kurdish books sent to them and that they were asked to pay for a translator. They also shared that it was forbidden to send more than one letter in the same envelope, they could not receive an answer to their petitions, they were not taken to the workshop, and they could only go out for sports activities for one hour a week.

	 

	In the letter, the prisoners stated that there was discrimination in participating in social activities, the number of television channels was low, FM radio was not provided, visiting hours were limited to one hour, and they had to buy cleaning materials from the canteen.

	 

	KURDISH SONG AND HALAY ARE PROHIBITED

	 

	In addition, the prisoners stated that singing Kurdish songs and dancing halay(Kurdish dancing) were prohibited in the prison, and that prisoners with different types of crimes were held in the same module and their room change requests were rejected.

	 

	ISOLATION CONDITIONS IN PRISON

	 

	CİSST Thematic Area Representative, lawyer Heval Zelal, said that they have received many applications in the last 3 months regarding the rights violations experienced by detainees. Stating that they received a lot of complaints from the prisoners in Sincan Prison No. 1, Zelal shared the information that these letters mainly concern rights violations. Stating that the prisoners were held under isolation conditions, Zelal said: "Turkey acted contrary to the international agreements to which it is a party. Prisoners are not given Kurdish books, a translator fee is requested. There is discrimination among prisoners. There is no such application for English and Arabic, but there is for Kurdish. Prisoners are receiving punishment within punishment. This situation is against human rights."

	 

	OFFICIAL APPLICATIONS ARE NOT RESULTS

	 

	Emphasizing that the prisoners were placed in isolation, Zelal said: "This situation would cause severe psychological problems on the prisoners. We applied to many institutions regarding the complaints of the prisoners. We made applications to the General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Houses, the Ministry of Justice, the Parliamentary Human Rights Commission, Cimer and the Human Rights Board, but there was no response."

	 

	MA / Ferdi Bayram