Relatives of prisoners who came to Ankara from Van, Diyarbakır, Şırnak, Batman, Mardin, Yüksekova, Siirt, Çukurova and Istanbul have attended the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Assembly group meeting yesterday.The families later visited the Human Rights Association (İHD) and the Future Party. The families will visit the Labor Party (EMEP), the Democracy and Development Party (DEVA), the Left Party, the Felicity Party (SP), the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV), and the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) today.

 

THEY PRESENTED FILES TO INSTITUTIONS

 

The families are presenting the files they prepared to the political parties during their visits and convey their demands and the information about the situation of the prisoners. The 11 page report is titled 'Ill prisoners in Turkish prisoners and right to access health' and includes the medical situations of 38 seriously ill prisoners that needs to be released right away.

 

INTERNATIONAL CALLS 

 

Emphasizing that there is a pandemic the calls of the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights on March 25, 2020, and the call of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of Eureopean Council on April 6, 2020 were reminded alongside the principles of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) published on March 20, 2020. Pointing out that the common point of these principles and calls is to reduce the number of detainees in prisons and that the measures to be taken within the scope of the pandemic do not reach the point of limiting existing freedoms, the file states that “UN Human Rights Commissioner and the Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner demanded the release of political prisoners who were detained without a clear reason in these calls. However, the measures announced by the Ministry of Justice were measures that completely abolished the prisoners' right to meet with their families and restricted their access to lawyers. Again, political prisoners were excluded from the scope of the amendments made under the name of "partial amnesty" in the Execution Law. In response, Human Rights Watch made a call saying that "Turkey puts sick prisoners at great risk."

 

THE PRISONERS WHO DIED IN PRISONS

 

Under the title of "Prisoners Who Lost Their Lives", it was stated that no effective investigations were started for Garibe Gezer, Abdurrezak Şuyur, Halil Güneş, İlyas Demir and Vedat Erkmen, who lost their lives in various prisons recently. In this title, protocols of UN Human Rights Commission, UN Human Rights Council, ECHR and Minnesota Protocol were reminded.

 

PRISONERS WHO NEED TO BE RELEASED IMMEDIATELY

 

The file also gave information about 38 detainees who needed to be released urgently. The detainees whose immediate release is requested are as follows: "Semire Direkçi, Mehmet Emin Özkan, Sıdık Güler, Aydın Çubukçu, Ahmet Kolakan, Ramazan Sarıkaya, Ciwan Boltan, Emin Güler, İbrahim Alkan, Lütfi Akay, Deniz Yıldırım, Erdal Özer, Şivekar Ateş, Erol Zavar , Emin Aladağ, Adnan Öztel, Mahmut Badur, Muhlise Karagüzel, Turgay Deniz, Halit Yıldıztekin, Yaşar Eriş, Eser Morsümbül, Adnan Yalçın, Ergin Aktaş, Ahmet Çakal, Rıdvan Yusufoğlu, Ramazan Durmaz, Hayati Kaytan, Aydın Değirmenci, Fatma Özbay, Mahfuz Dorudemir, Ziya Ataman, Ramazan Özyiğit, Rojbin Çetin, Abdurrahim Kırtay, Menderes Leyla, Ali Osman Köse, Devrim Ayık.”

 

DEMANDS 

 

In the "Conclusion and Suggestions" section of the file, the demands were listed as follows:

 

“* Due to the fact that seriously ill prisoners are in a serious risk group in the event of the pandemic, the postponement of their execution by being released, the release of the detainees, the approach to sick prisoners should be evaluated only in clinical terms under all circumstances. Article 16 of the Execution Law should be amended in line with the needs of sick prisoners.

 

* Considering the fatal effect of the virus especially on people over 60 years of age, the precautionary release of prisoners over 60 years of age and the postponement of their execution, the release of those who are detained,

 

* The release and postponement of the execution of pregnant women and women with children, taking into account the best interests of the child,

 

* The immediate release of juvenile detainees,

 

* Considering the fact that detention is an exception, the situation of all detainees should be examined on the file and evaluated according to the type of crime, and judicial control measures such as release or house arrest should be applied,

 

* Reorganization of the Execution Law No. 5275, taking into account the principle of equality in execution,

 

* Abandoning the application of disciplinary punishments that will cause deprivation of rights of the prisoners, 

 

* Until the prisoners are released from prisons; Ensuring personal hygiene in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19),

 

* In order to protect the health of the prisoners in prisons, to ensure that they can clean their ward and themselves, they are urgently provided with cleaning materials free of charge and the prisoners who do not have money have access to cleaning products,

 

* To take necessary measures to ensure environmental and personal hygiene in prisons,

 

* Until the prisoners are released from prisons; disinfection of common areas such as bathrooms and toilets in prisons to be made every day,

 

* Until the prisoners are released from prisons; Ensuring adequate, balanced and healthy nutrition for prisoners, providing vitamin supplements,

 

* Until the prisoners are released from prisons; Postponing the sentences of chronically ill, disabled, elderly, children and pregnant prisoners who are in the risk group and who are insufficient to provide personal hygiene, through judicial control,

 

* Until the prisoners are released from prisons; Informing all personnel working in prisons, taking into account the recommendations and warnings of the Ministry of Health and the Turkish Medical Association, determining the steps to be taken and the rules to be followed, and sharing this information by the relevant personnel, taking into account the restrictions on prisoners' access to communication tools, to prepare and share brochures with prisoners and to apply the right of telephone contact to each prisoner at least twice a week,

 

* Until the prisoners are released from prisons; Informing the people who will enter the prison about the hygiene rules and precautions to be taken to prevent the spread of the virus, and providing appropriate environment and protective materials in addition to these measures in case of contact with prisoners,

 

* Until the prisoners are released from prisons; Providing protective clothing and materials to all employees who come into contact with prisoners, especially healthcare workers,

 

* To take necessary measures, including working conditions, for all prison workers, especially those in the risk group,

 

* Until the prisoners are released from prisons; the presence of regular and sufficient number of health personnel in prisons (increasing the number),

 

* Until the prisoners are released from prisons; To take the necessary measures so that the tests of all prisoners, prison staff and their relatives showing possible symptoms can be carried out quickly and reliably,

 

* Until the prisoners are released from prisons; Increasing the measures in a way that will not violate the rights of the prisoners in the areas where the visits are held, disinfecting the areas frequently, and increasing the opportunities for the prisoners to communicate with their relatives,

 

* Until the prisoners are released from prisons; To take necessary measures to provide appropriate and adequate health services in hospitals located close to prisons and in health institutions providing health services to prisoners,

 

* Until the prisoners are released from prisons; taking the prisoners to health institutions and hospitals not by ring vehicles; but with more hygienic and sanitary vehicles,

 

* Until the prisoners are released from prisons; care should be taken to implement the measures to be taken on the grounds of health in a way that does not violate the fundamental rights of the prisoners,

 

* Until the prisoners are released from prisons; To inform the public, especially the families and lawyers of the prisoners, on the measures taken/to be taken regarding the coronavirus pandemic in prisons, the quarantine practices and the health status of the prisoners on a regular basis,

 

* A committee including lawyers, human rights organizations and government representatives to inform the public about whether the measures taken in all prisons in Turkey, including the İmralı Prison, are in compliance with the standards (considering that there are allegations of rights violations that can be considered very serious) urgently."

 

 

 

MA / Zemo Ağgöz