IĞDIR - Stating that the Type S prisons are a new system based on isolation, HDP Iğdır MP Habip Eksik said these prisons are the result of AKP's medieval mentality.

 

Compared to the populations of the European countries, the highest number of detainees in European prisons are in Turkey. According to the Council of Europe 2020 Penal Statistics, Turkey ranks first in terms of the number of prisoners. According to the data of the Ministry of Justice, there are 297,726 prisoners as of January 31, 2021. As of January 2022, there are 27,658 prisoners above the capacity of 383 prisons. Type S prisons consists of one person cells and were first built in Antalya, Manavgat, Iğdır, Bodrum, and Samsun Kavak.  Despite being opened a short time ago, Iğdır Type S Prison is one of the places where violations of rights are experienced the most. There are cameras in the single person cells and wards for 3 which monitors the prisoners 24/7.  It was also reflected in the reports of human rights organizations that the prisoners are frequently subjected to strip search and that the guards sustematically beat the prisoners. 

 

PRISONERS ARE BEING BATTERED

 

Hogır Batu, who was exiled from Diyarbakır No. 1 High Security Prison to Iğdır Type S Prison on December 23, 2021, was subjected to a strip search and battered by the guards. The hunger strike launched by Batu against this situation has been going on for 31 days. It was stated that Ruken Yıldız, a seriously ill prisoner, could not be examined at the hospital because the handcuffs were not removed.

 

A MEDIEVAL MENTALITY

 

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Iğdır MP Habip Eksik held a meeting with the prison administration regarding the problems experienced by the prisoners. Comparing the prison to concentration camps, Eksik said that these prisons are the result of the medieval mentality of the AKP. Stating that the isolation system was started in Imrali and spread to the whole of country, Eksik said, "All opposition groups of Turkey must unite against the isolation put an end to this medieval system."

 

PRISON ADMINISTRATION

 

Stating that there are 129 cells in Iğdır Type S Prison and most of them does not have ventilation system, Eksik told that prisoners are held alone in these cells. Noting that he had a meeting with the prison administration a week ago, Eksik said that he conveyed to the administration that the practices carried out in the prison are against the existing rules, CPT rules and international law. Emphasizing that the conditions for prisoners to be held in solitary cells are clear according to the prison execution laws, Eksik said, “We have learned that people who have received aggravated life sentence or not are taken to these cells in Iğdır Type S Prison, without making any distinction between prisoners and convicts. The prison director conveyed that the situation was not their own initiative and that it was completely determined by the Ministry of Justice. The prison administration denies that they impose strip search on prsioners, claiming that they made a detailed search. But it seems that these types of prisons were planned by the AKP beforehand and they are trying to create a place where all unlawfulnesses are tried to be implemented."

 

'TYPE S PRIONS ARE LIKE CONCENTRATION CAMPS'

 

Emphasizing that the AKP is institutionalizing fascism with the policies it carries out, Eksik stated that the AKP clearly rules the society with fear and fascism that the people can feel to the very bones. Expressing that prisons are one of the most important steps to implement this system, Eksik said, “Prisons are places they intimidate the people they marginalized. They are trying their best to intimidate the people. People are dying in prisons every day just like the concentration cells. The people Forensic Medicine Institude says they can remain in prison, loses their lives a week later. We know these decisions are not medical decisions, that they are given with the instructions of the AKP- MHP.

 

Stating that the people should embrace those who demand justice, Eksik emphasized that Type S Prisons should be closed.

 

 

 

MA / Dindar Karataş