ANKARA - In a letter sent from Bolu Type F prison, Mesut Yurtsever described the rights violations experienced by prisoners and noted that the releases of Ömer Okul and Hüseyin Yıldırım, both of whom have completed 32 years in prison, have been prevented.

 

Mesut Yurtsever, an ill prisoner held at Bolu Type F High-Security Closed Prison, described the rights violations they have been subjected to in a letter sent to human rights defender Nuray Çevirmen Aykol, who continues the “From the Inside” column in the Yeni Yaşam Newspaper following the death of journalist and writer Hüseyin Aykol. 

 

In his letter, Yurtsever said that the policy of blocking prisoners’ releases through arbitrary decisions by the Administrative and Observation Board continues. He wrote that the release of Ömer Okul, who spent 32 years in prison, was once again postponed for six months on 24 June; while the release of Hüseyin Yıldırım, who has also spent 32 years in prison, was postponed for three months on 17 June on similarly arbitrary grounds. “We have lost count of how many times their release has been postponed,” Yurtsever wrote. 

 

‘PUBLICATIONS AND LETTERS IN KURDISH ARE NOT BEING DELIVERED’

 

Yurtsever also stated that they are unable to access publications, particularly Kurdish-language publications. Yurtsever wrote: “Although there is no legal basis preventing us from receiving Kurdish-language publications, we are still being denied access to them. Even though the prison administration cites the legislation, it is clear that this is not the case. Likewise, for the past one to two years, they have also refused to send our letters in Kurdish, citing the lack of a translator. Although we have submitted dozens of petitions on this issue and forwarded them to the Ministry, the issue still has not been resolved.”

 

‘THEY CONDUCT A SURVEY AND THEN SHOW THE CHANNELS THEY WANT’

 

Yurtsever said that a survey is conducted regarding television channels, but that the channels are ultimately selected at the discretion of the prison administration despite the survey. Yurtsever wrote: “At the beginning of every year, we are given a list of television channels and a so-called survey is conducted. We fill it out and submit it. However, many television channels that we did not request are made available, while the channels requested by almost all of us are not. Moreover, although these channels are included in the list prepared by the administration itself and put to us in the survey, they still do not make them available. They switch on whichever channels no one has asked for, and then they call it ‘democracy’.”

 

According to information provided by their lawyers, Yıldırım and Okul appealed the decision preventing their release. It was learned that Yıldırım’s appeal was rejected, while a decision on Okul’s appeal has not yet been made.