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WOMEN’S RIGHTS PROTESTS

A First of its kind: Virtual Protest for Women’s Rights

After the widely successful protests on March 6th for women’s rights in 5 countries and 42 locations with thousands of attendees, AST (Advocates of Silenced Turkey) assembled a first of its kind virtual protest on March 21st, 2021 at the channel:

www.youtube.com/advocatesofsilencedturkey

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HOW ABOUT MAKING THE VOICES OF MOTHERS HEARD BY 5,000 FEMALE LEADERS ON MOTEHERS DAY, MAY 9TH

In the past, women of Turkey have always been discriminated, subjugated, and oppressed. Especially mothers have had to pay the price of conflicts and oppression more harshly. Kurdish mothers had to leave their kids’ dead bodies in freezers for days because of the curfews. Dead bodies of Kur­dish mothers were left on the streets because of the curfews. Mothers were beaten on the streets just be­cause they gather to call the government to find their forcibly disappeared children. Devastating experi­ences of mothers in Turkey, regardless of their ethnicity, ideological beliefs, or religion are in­describable. To top it all off, the failed coup attempt in July 2016 happened to be a water­shed moment in Turkey’s modern history, which was followed by the persecution of thousands of people; among whom are thousands of women and mothers. Extraordinary measures taken by the government following the coup attempt, the political conflicts, and consequential persecution have doubled the burden on mothers. Due to the government’s propaganda, mothers are stigmatized and excluded from society. They are exposed to arbitrary detentions, their children/husbands become the victims of enforced disap­pearances, and they are forced to flee to survive. Mothers have either lost their own lives in these desperate circum­stances, or their children in these hazardous journeys. We are extending our solidarity with:

-Saturday Mothers

⁃ Taybe Ana

⁃ Mother of Cemile Cagirga

⁃ Mother of Nurefsan

⁃ Mother of Berkin Elvan

⁃ Mothers incarcerated with their babies

⁃ Incarcerated mothers separated from their kids

⁃ Mother of Gulistan Doku

⁃ Mother of Sule Cet

⁃ Mothers whose professions taken from them

⁃ Mother of Ahmet Burhan

– Mother and grandmother of Hakan

⁃ Mothers of deceased Grup Yorum members

⁃ Esma Uludag

⁃ Unzile Araz

⁃ Hatice Akcabay

⁃ Emine Bulut

⁃ Sumeyya Avci

⁃ Nurhayat Yildiz

⁃ Fatma Gormez

We are also extending our sincere gratitude to Natali Avazyan, Eren Keskin, Huda Kaya, and many more courageous women who have cared for the persecuted children of Turkey, just like a mother would.

We want the voice of 5,000 innocent women and mothers to be heard by 5,000 female leaders in 1,000 cities around the world.

With each flower, the stories of 4-5 innocent mothers persecuted by the Erdogan regime will be told.

#FreeMothersInTurkey
#AnnelereÖzgürlük

 

 

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WOMEN’S RIGHTS VIOLATIONS BY THE TURKISH LEGAL SYSTEM

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The intent of this report is to declare the victims of the ‘New Turkey,’ especially women with children who have been under persecution since the July 15, 2016 coup attempt. Although the Turkish government does not promote transparent data on the number of children imprisoned with their mothers, there are 864 children in the prison according to the Justice Department Prison and Penitentiaries Management. The ages of these children vary between newborns to 6 years, as of May 24, 2019.

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Spring Internship for Women’s Rights Advocacy

Advocates of Silenced Turkey’s second internship program is designed to foster research and academic writing skills and will provide college students with the opportunity to work in close contact with survivors of the Turkey purge through human rights advocacy projects. The program will focus specifically on the infringement of women’s rights in Turkey, framing the larger fight for gender equality as it pertains to both contemporary political and social issues. This internship is a great opportunity to develop your research and academic writing skills as you work towards publishing a paper for AST under your own name. 

Dates: January 3, 2021 to March 8, 2021

Apply by November 30, 2020

Reach out to internship@silencedturkey.org with any and all questions about the program.

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THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK IN TURKEY’S PRISONS: ANALYSIS OF THE CASES, FINDINGS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Introduction

This report informs about the confirmed Covid-19 cases seen in Turkey’s prisons. Based on this and the official statements, the report presents its findings and recommendations.

The notoriously overcrowded prisons in Turkey pose serious health threats to inmates during the coronavirus pandemic, as indicated by the statements of the inmates’ relatives who have reached us, and the written and oral statements in open sources, as well as the reporting of human rights activists and organizations. The recently passed Execution bill is also not able to eliminate those threats due to its unfair and discriminatory nature.

Coronavirus Cases

Numerous audio recordings – which were shared in social media and later whose contents were confirmed by their sources – pointed to the inhumane conditions in prisons. Such claims as in the recordings were also expressed in the statements of many inmate relatives. These indicate that the rights to life of the inmates in prisons – which is among the most basic and universal human rights and protected by the 10th amendment of the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey and the article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) – are under clear, serious, and near threat, as asserted by the inmates themselves.

The statements of the inmates and the inmate relatives about the conditions in prisons are listed below.

April 3, 2020: “Ahmet Turkmen, 68, has a history of chronic heart disease and underwent a serious by-pass operation, among other serious health problems. He has been held in Kayseri T-type no. 1 prison for the past three years and his 14-year sentence for being a member of a terrorist organization is on appeal. … Despite the Forensic Medicine Institute’s advice that Turkmen undergo a health check every six months, he has been taken to a health check only once in the last three years. Covid-19 poses a serious threat to Turkmen’s life, who resides with 10 prisoners in a three-person cell. Turkmen’s attorney applied to the Supreme Court of Appeals on March 18th for his release due to the threats that Covid-19 poses to his health conditions.

Ismet Ozcelik, 61, is the former principal of a Malaysian school and has been held in Denizli T-type prison in Turkey since May 2017. Despite applying for asylum to the UN Refugee Agency in Malaysia, Ozcelik was kidnapped in Malaysia and forcibly taken to Turkey. In May 2019, the UN Human Rights Committee ruled that Turkey must release Ozcelik and pay compensation for violating his human rights guaranteed by the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights. However, Turkey did not implement this decision. … Ozcelik’s 10-year sentence is still in the process of appeal. Ozcelik, who has a heart condition, reported that no timely medical intervention was provided to him when he felt he had a heart attack in 2019. Ozcelik’s attorney stated that despite the significant amount of time that passed, he was not provided with a copy of the detailed report for the health check Ozcelik underwent following his emergency complaint. Ozcelik’s attorneys applied to the Supreme Court of Appeals in mid-March for his release due to the threats that Covid-19 poses to his health conditions.

Hussein Soykan, 48, a former police officer, has been held in Karaman M-type prison for 44 months. … Medical reports show that Soykan has a chronic lung condition and that one of his lungs had collapsed (pneumothorax) in the past. He was rushed to hospital twice while in prison. Soykan stays with 28 prisoners in an eight-person cell. Another prisoner in the same cell, Amir Gulaç, died on October 20, 2019, shortly after his attorney pleaded about the poor prison conditions having negative impacts on the health of prisoners. Gulac’s cause of death is thought to be heart failure. The Forensic Medicine Institution is expected to release the autopsy report on Gulac’s death. Covid-19 is seemingly a lethal threat to Soykan, given his health conditions. Due to the severity of his health conditions, Soykan’s attorney applied to the Supreme Court of Appeals on March 19 for his release. [1]

May 8, 2020: In the B12 cell of the Silivri prison no. 7, inmate Huseyin Kacan’s examination request was refused by officials despite him repeatedly saying that “We are not feeling okay, test us (for the coronavirus)”. There are 39 inmates in the B12 cell. It is claimed that the prison administration has not dealt with the inmates despite the coronavirus symptoms seen on April 25. Although the seriousness of the situation was understood after a 48-year old inmate fainted, no testing attempt was taken. After the relatives of those staying at the cell called Alo 184, the national emergency number, the Ministry of Health sent first responders to the prison for testing. The testing was conducted on May 6, 2020 and the test results were released on May 7, 2020. According to the results obtained from the E-Nabız (the ministry’s health portal), everyone in the cell tested positive. Nevertheless, the prison administration took no action for those inmates. They still refuse to do anything for their treatment. [2]

May 8, 2020: D, whose husband is in the B-12 cell, does not want to be named because she is worried about the health of her husband’s parents who have heart disease. After learning that her 39-year old husband tested positive for Covid-19, D described what happened to the Arti Gercek news: “After I learned about the cases in the cell C-7, I was worried and asked him about their situation. He said that ‘On Monday, they took away two friends from the cell and never brought them back, I think they tested positive. As a matter of fact, we all fell ill, it was like a flue, some have thrown up’. I asked if they were tested. ‘Put aside testing, we are given only a small amount of soup for both sahur and iftar. The situation is so desperate. The phone call is the

first time we were given masks’, said my husband”. Ekrem Solmaz, the father of another inmate, Yasin Solmaz from cell C-7, also found out last night that his son’s Covid-19 test was positive. [3]

May 11, 2020: HDP Kocaeli deputy, Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu called attention on the huge jump in the number of Covid-19 cases in Silivri prison. Gergerlioğlu had earlier announced that there were Covid-19 cases at cells B-10, B-12, C-7 in Silivri prison no. 7. Recently he added that there are also cases at cell C-6 of Silivri prison no.8 and the coronavirus is spreading to cell 5. [4]

May 11, 2020: An inmate’s relative, whose husband is held in cell C-6, and who wants to remain anonymous, said that some 30 inmates in the cell have tested positive and 4 inmates have tested negative whereas the remaining few inmates’ test results were not informed. She also added that while those who have tested negative were taken to another cell, those who have tested positive remain in the same cell and are not receiving any sorts of treatment. Emphasizing the seriousness of the situation, the inmate’s relative stated “The incident dates back a while. Numerous inmates in the cell had high fever complaints two weeks ago. Nevertheless, the complaints were not taken seriously so the situation grew worse and the virus spread to many more.” [5]

May 14, 2020: According to the information given by Ali Riza Karaboğa, who remains in Silivri prison no. 7, to his wife during their phone call, two inmates from their adjacent cell were tested for the coronavirus and sent back to their cell despite being tested positive. During the phone call with her husband two weeks ago, Karaboğa mentioned that their body temperature was measured for the first time since the beginning of the outbreak. During this week’s phone call, he also added that their body temperature was measured for a second time, and masks were provided for phone calls. [6]

May 14, 2020:  Being among the coronavirus risk group, journalist Çetin Çiftçi, who was sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison and has been in Sincan prison for 8 months, was diagnosed with Covid-19. Çiftçi, who also has kidney and heart problems, was reportedly under treatment. After Çetin Çiftçi’s wife, Selda  Çiftçi personally inquired about her husband’s situation, she found out that he had been taken to the hospital many times while in prison. [7]

May 14, 2020: Stating the huge increase in the number of the coronavirus cases in Silivri prison, HDP Deputy Omer Faruk Gergerlioğlu said that 45 inmates stay in some of the 7-person cells. Gergerlioğlu also shared some letters from the relatives and prisoners. Here are a few of those letters:

  • “Z. A. stays in the Silivri prison no. 5. In a phone call with his mother; he said that he had been taken to the infirmary twice, and then a sample was taken from him in a requested ambulance, but that he had not been informed about why the sample was taken, and that he had been sent back to his cell without being taken to a hospital.”
  • “My brother stays in the Silivri prison no.2. He had said in our call last week that they were given so little food. We are so worried about my brother’s life, given the coronavirus threat. He is staying with 44 other inmates in a 7-person cell and the food service was so problematic due to the releases in the open prisons.”
  • “In Silivri prison no. 7, there stays 43 inmates in cells. The coronavirus outbreak spreads into the prison. Some 30 inmates have shown symptoms like diarrhea and vomiting. For weeks, there is a shortage in the prison canteen service, inmates denied access to soap, shampoo, and napkins, they use dishwashing liquid when showering and inmates were forced to take shower in cold water (due to the lack of provision of hot water).”
  • “At the C-7 cell of Silivri prison no. 7, unfortunately, an inmate was tested positive forCovid-19. The remaining 45 inmates in the cell are at greater risk. We are so worried about its spread to the other inmates in the cell.”
  • “M.E. stays in Silivri L typed prison no. 5. As per his family, the inmate stated that he has a dry coughing problem which is among the coronavirus symptoms, that there are inmates in his cell with chronic diseases, that they were denied access to personal hygiene materials, that there is a shortage in the regular provision of cold and hot water, that they are not well-informed about the pandemic, that hygiene and proper cleaning of the dining holes were not adequate and no social distancing rules are being implemented, that the food being served is unhealthy and improper, and that a quarantine room is not available in the prison.”
  • “My brother, H.O. stays in Silivri prison no. 8. When we talked to our brother, he said that there were patients who tested positive for the Covid-19, and they are in physical contact with those patients and that their request for testing was refused by the prison administration. He also said that they are staying in overcrowded cells. We are worried about my brother’s life. At my brother’s request, we ask them to be tested.” [8]

May 14, 2020: “My husband, R.K. is held in Silivri L-type prison no. 8. His first test for Covid-19 was negative. Today, however, the E-Nabız (the health portal) showed a second positive test result. Then I called the prison, but they said that a second test was not conducted and will happen later. Despite the positive test result in the E-Nabız, the prison (administration) states that the second test was not conducted. When I reached out (to the prison), I was told that he was transferred to another cell due to his negative test results and that he will have his phone call rights on Tuesday morning which is today. However, when I called the prison today, I was told that the phone call was postponed to Sunday. I haven’t received any news from my husband which is worrying me.” [9]

May 14, 2020: “Prepared by the HRFT Documentation Center, a report on the human rights violations associated with the Covid-19 outbreak in the period between March 11, 2020 – May 10, 2020 was released. According to the report, despite the calls which are based on the international standards and norms, inmates were completely restricted from family visits and partially restricted from attorney visits. Besides, the report stated that even after the High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet urged governments to take action in preventing the catastrophic rates of the COVID19 infection, the inmates’ limited access to proper health care, healthy food, fresh water, and hygiene materials during the pandemic amount to ill-treatment. [10]

May 15, 2020: Şakire Solmaz, the wife of ex-cadet Yasin Solmaz who has been sentenced to prison for life, M.T., the partner of teacher M.T., B. Çicek, the wife of ex-police officer Ali Çiçek, and Fatih Çiçek, Ali Çiçek’s uncle and attorney, stated what they have been through during last week. They shared with Bold Medya their relative’s Covid-19 diagnosis reports that were obtained from (the Ministry of Health’s health portal) E-Nabız and the petitions that they submitted to the courts for their release. “They avoid us like the plague, no one is here to help”, said Şakire Solmaz, the wife of Yasin Solmaz. Being locked up for 42 months, Ali Çiçek stays at the B10 cell of Silivri prison no. 7. His wife, B. Çiçek said “He rested for two days with a high fever. But he said he is fine now. Yet, the cell conditions are so bad. Foodservice is problematic. He said he has never seen so little food being served before. They were buying breakfast products from the prison canteen, but it is closed now. There is always a queue for the restroom. There is a queue even for the fridge, the living conditions got heavier. It is so crowded here, even if someone feels okay, the other who is not feeling okay affect him”. Another inmate staying at the B12 cell of no. 7 is the teacher, M.T. Being locked up for 19 months, M.T. was diagnosed with Covid-19. Having not seen her husband for 65 days, and stating that a week amounts to a year for her since May 6, his wife M.T. talked about her phone call with her husband “Last time I spoke to my husband was on Wednesday, two days ago. Since May 6, a week passed like a year. Because it is recorded in the health portal that he was taken to see a doctor, I asked him what is happening. He said there is no such thing. We were only tested (for Covid-19). Since then, no one bothered to see us. They put such records in the system to make it look like they are monitoring us. They are only checking their temperature. They are not taking them to the doctor, but they put records in the system (falsely) showing that they are taking. They are in danger there. Not only their immune systems got weakened but also, they are not isolated. In fact, how to isolate them in a place where 39 people stay! This is against the law. The second thing, the food service is so problematic. He said no vegetable or fruits have been served for the last two weeks. They are only given a very small amount of food. He said we were left here to die, no one is coming to check on us. He asked to seek help from whomever/wherever I can.” [11]

May 17, 2020: Based on their visits to Van T-type prison, Van High-Security prison, and Van F-type prison this week, the observations and findings of ÖHD (the Association of Lawyers for Freedom) Van Branch, The Prison (Watch) Commission of  Van Bar, and Van Tuhay-Der (the Women Executives of the Prisoners’ Families Aid Association) are as follows[12]:

  • Measures taken in prisons for the Covid-19 outbreak are certainly not adequate. Given the excessive overcrowding rates, deprivation from hygiene and protective materials, and lacking access to health care, inmates’ rights to life are under serious threat.
  • Charging inmates for the protective materials, excessive pricing, infrequent and inadequate disinfection of cell, and body search of inmates whenever they go outside of their cells particularly aggravate the threats to their rights to life.

May 18, 2020: Another inmate was tested positive for the coronavirus in Silivri L-type prison no. 7. Accessed in the E-Nabız (the health portal), the test result for detainee Ali Kemal Ata, who is pending trial, was positive. Remaining in cell B-8 together with 29 inmates, Ata has been in prison for three years. Saying that she talks to her husband every Monday, Ata’s wife, Vecibe Tuba Ata said “I will not be able to talk to my husband today because I know he is at the hospital. I am calling every day the hospital at the campus. Only on Friday, they replied to my call. They said he is in good condition, but his situation is still worrying us. I am trying to track his condition through the E-Nabız.” [13]

May 19, 2020: An inmate in Silivri prison said no tests have been carried out for prisoners, except for the severe cases. In a phone call passed to the DW Turkish by his wife Y.S., an inmate describes the prison conditions to his wife: “The prosecutor’s office declared the number of cases in Silivri prison as 44, but there were 31 positive cases in cell B-10 and 24 in cell B-12. So, they say that no tests will be carried out unless there are chronic cases, that is only those who seem not to able to move around themselves should be tested. Other than that, the Ministry does not want any testing effort. We objected to this by saying how such a thing could be possible, and then we insisted on the doctor and he sent us to the hospital. Seven of us out of eight have tested positive. Most likely, there are now more cases in our cell, too. Everyone in the adjacent cell is sick.” In the phone call, the inmate also adds that they were taken to the quarantine before the test results came out, but later the test result for one of the inmates among them came out negative and that he would be transferred to the cell designated for negatives. The inmate describes his concerns as follows: “There is no such thing as quarantine/isolation here anyway. If you heal on your own, you will be fine. Other than that, if you die, you die, there is nothing else to do. Nobody cares about you here. Nobody at all…”

Spoken to the DW Turkish, an inmate’s relative Ş.S. indicated that her husband who is held in Silivri prison is at the quarantine and that some 39 inmates who have tested positive are held together at one place. Claiming that she was told the quarantine rooms were 7-to-8-person cells, she stated that the warden of the prison has confirmed about the situation (that the 39 inmates are quarantined in one cell) to their attorneys. According to the information from her husband, Ş.S. also added that although there were 39 inmates in the cell, they were given so little food that could be adequate for only 15 inmates, that the cleaning and hygiene were limited, that the last time their body temperature being measured was three days ago and it was conducted by the guards in a way that they were measured through the door without the guards entering the cell, and that the inmates could not make their voice heard as there were not enough guards in the prison.

S.E. indicated that in Silivri L-type prison no. 7, inmates were given masks and gloves on May 11 for the first time when they left their cells for family phone calls. Further, an inmate’s relative S.Ş. said “The only information they gave was that (they are) okay. I found out about my husband’s infection in the E-Nabız platform. And now, I can not even track (his situation) from the platform. When we asked why we are not able to track it in the E-Nabız system, they said the (patient) records will no longer be entered (there).” [14]

May 19, 2020: Indicating that his son was given a flue medication and sent back to his cell, Ekrem Solmaz, the father of Yasin Solmaz who resides in Silivri L-type prison no. 7 and has tested positive for Covid-19, said “39 inmates are staying in one cell. This is massacre!”. The officials of the Silivri L-type prison no. 7 said that they could not comment on this matter and referred us to the public prosecutor’s office. [15]

May 20, 2020: Lawyers from ÖHD (the Association of Lawyers for Freedom) Ankara Branch and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Iğdır deputy Habip Eksik have visited the Kayseri Bünyan Women’s Prison and Kayseri Bünyan T-type prison no. 7. The delegation reported about the interviews they had with inmates and the prison administration. According to the report prepared by the Ankara Branch of the ÖHD, 5 imprisoned women in the Kayseri Bunyan Women’s Prison were interviewed. The report indicates that 3 people were quarantined following their examination, but no coronavirus testing was carried out and that an inmate was having coughing and dry throat problems. [16]

May 20, 2020: “My brother held in Silivri prison was tested on the 10th day of the outbreak. His test results were positive. Stating that he was (only) given medication as treatment, my brother said that they are staying in overcrowded cells. He also added that the food service was problematic and that they were personally cleaning (their cells). We have applied to the prison administration that my brother can not remain in prison under these circumstances, but we did not receive a positive reply.“ These statements belong to Barış Kaçan, the brother of inmate Hüseyin Kaçan. Locked up in Silivri prison for 23 months, inmate Hüseyin Kaçan also has stomach pains and knee problems. According to his brother, even under normal circumstances, he was struggling in prison conditions, often experiencing pain, and getting sick. After his Covid-19 symptoms became increasingly noticeable, he was tested on the 10th day and he had found out that he was sick. In fact, from the moment the symptoms began, he and other inmates had applied to the prison administration for testing but were rejected.

Burak Çelen, who is also imprisoned in Silivri prison no. 7, has tested positive for Covid-19 a week ago. Sevda Çelen, the wife of Burak Çelen, had seen in the E-Nabız system that his husband has been infected by the coronavirus, and then their attorney has petitioned for his treatment in the hospital. Following the petition, Burak Çelen was taken to the hospital on May 7.  Sevda Çelen said that after a day of observation in the hospital, his husband was given a 5-day drug therapy and sent to the quarantine cell in the prison. In her most recent phone call (with her husband), Sevda Çelen learned that that the prison conditions were not good. According to Burak Çelen, who is in the quarantine cell for 39 people, the amount of food served to the cell was for 15 people and the prison canteen was closed. He has also stated that the fever measurements were not carried out regularly, that no testing was applied after the 5-day drug therapy and that there were fresh air, and hygiene problems.

Cevriye Aydin is the lawyer of Yasin Solmaz, a coronavirus patient. Reached by Euronews, Aydin points out that the situation is a human rights violation. Stating that his client is not in healthy conditions, Aydin also indicates that the authorities should accommodate temporary solutions for those in prison during the pandemic: “Regardless of their views and religions, everyone in prisons is under the assurance (responsibility) of the state. First, the right to life is guaranteed by the state. Otherwise, the state will be responsible. The priority here is to secure the prisoners’ rights to life. I am in a panic for those prisoners’ rights to life. People out there are dying from Covid-19, too, but when they are out, being infected (by the virus) is in their own volition. However, when in prison, this is an incident happening in a place that is entirely under the political and legal responsibility of the state, the government, and those in power.” [17]

Official Statements

The issues stated above clearly show that the Government of Turkey and the officials are not taking the necessary measures amid the global Coronavirus outbreak. They do not even provide the essential basic needs of those inmates whose well-beings and health are under their responsibility to protect. Not only that, but it is also clearly seen that they also fail to ensure physical conditions necessary to prevent the transmission of the disease, and that mass deaths can occur in prisons due to the “mass isolation” measures that are similar to the medieval practices.

Some of the official statements reported in the media about the coronavirus cases in prisons are summarized below:

April 8, 2020: It is claimed that a convict named Mehmet Yeter in Bafra prison, who reportedly had diabetes, was recently sent back to prison after his leg got amputated and three days later, he died from Covid-19. Despite the statement of the Bafra Public Prosecutor’s Office that Mehmet Yeter’s death was not related to Covid-19, a social media user called Ferhat Yeter, who declared himself as Mehmet Yeter’s son, shared some documents, that allegedly belonged to the public prosecutor, about the funeral proceedings of his father Mehmet Yeter.

April 20, 2020: Izmir Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that an inmate in Buca prison has tested positive for the novel coronavirus. 

April 22, 2020: After the first coronavirus case in Buca prison, Izmir Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that 64 more inmates have also tested positive.

April 28, 2020: Konya Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that 55 inmates in Konya E type prison have tested positive for the coronavirus.

May 2, 2020: After receiving complaint letters from inmates and their relatives, Sezgin Tanrıkulu, CHP Istanbul Deputy and Vice President of the Parliamentary Human Rights Investigation Committee, stated that they are receiving an unprecedented number of complaints, and most of them are about “inadequate access to nutrition, hygiene, and health care service”.

May 8, 2020: Bakırköy Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that 44 prisoners in Silivri prison have tested positive for Covid-19.

May 22, 2020: Bakırköy Public Prosecutor’s Office announced the death of an inmate in Silivri prison, who was undergoing treatment for Covid-19. The prosecutor’s office said in a statement that the inmate, who had a chronic lung disease (reportedly tuberculosis), died at 5.45 pm on May 21, 2020.  As of May 22, the prosecutor’s office said there were a total of 82 cases of Covid-19 in Silivri prison, including 47 in the L-type prison no. 7 and 35 in L-type prison no. 8. [18]

Findings

The significant differences between the official statements and the information received from the inmates’ relatives and their attorneys indicate that the extent of the coronavirus risk in Turkey’s prisons is far deeper than what has been announced. The Government of Turkey and officials, who are not taking the necessary precautions to protect the rights to life of those who are under their responsibility, in slightest terms, act with “severe neglect of duty and culpable negligence”.

Based on the facts presented above, our findings of the prison conditions during the coronavirus pandemic are as below:

  1. The information provided by the officials on the coronavirus cases in prison and the inmates’ health conditions is not adequate; both the relatives of inmates and the public are not informed accurately and frequently.
  2. Although some have been released after the recent execution law, the prison cells are still overcrowded. In the pandemic, some might primarily expect the measures to be undertaken against the outbreak are to reduce the number of people in prison cells; however, the opposite was experienced in some cells to which their sizes have expanded from the pre-pandemic rates.
  3. Sick people are not being tested or delayed until their conditions worsen, let alone undertaking routine testing efforts.
  4. The inmates’ access to both internal and external health care providers have been severely restricted and thus become problematic; in cases where they have accessed the health care, it has been de-facto abrupted due to the post-quarantine practices.
  5. Sick people are not treated effectively. Both the duration of treatments and the usage of drugs are very limited.
  6. In-prison hygiene conditions are inadequate. Adequate cleaning materials and proper access to water are not provided; even in cases where they are charged for a fee.
  7. After the recently passed execution bill, shortage of workforce in open prisons where meals are prepared for prisons has resulted in very problematic food service. This seemingly undermines the efforts to tackle the pandemic issue as inmates experience malnutrition. Besides food service that is inadequate, unhealthy, and of poor quality, inmates experience difficulties in accessing paid food due to the closure of canteens as part of the fight against the pandemic. This weakens the immune system of prisoners and makes them more vulnerable during the pandemic.
  8. Due to inadequate provision of the protective materials, both inmates and prison personnel are exposed to risky contact transmission of the disease from the infected.
  9. As many officials (serving prisons) have limited their physical presence during the pandemic, the inmates’ demands are not evaluated properly; rapid and effective measures are not taken in the fight against the pandemic.

Recommendations

As Advocates of Silenced Turkey, we call on all national and international institutions and the general public, especially the Turkish Government, to act immediately and effectively to stop the aggravated coronavirus threats in Turkey’s prisons and prevent possible mass deaths from happening.

Given this context:

  1. The officials are urged to provide adequate information about the coronavirus cases in prison and the inmates’ health conditions. They should accurately and frequently inform both the inmates’ relatives and the public.
  2. To ease overcrowding in prisons, we urge the government to use all available alternatives to detention whenever possible. Among the inmate groups that are at higher risk for the coronavirus, persons on remand awaiting trial should immediately be released. The legal practice to suspend the execution of sentences should also immediately be adapted for the convicted prisoners.
  3. Inmates should be tested routinely and those infected should be detected, provided with effective health care, and treated under appropriate conditions. As current quarantine efforts resemble medieval practices evoked from physical contact between the infected and uninfected, they should immediately be halted. Appropriate and scientific measures should be undertaken.
  4. In-prison hygiene conditions should adequately be provided, the access to cleaning materials should be improved, and the overpricing in the prison canteens should be prevented.
  5. To strengthen the immune systems of inmates, adequate and balanced nutrition should be provided – calling for improvements in the quality and amount of the food service,  provision of adequate and proper food products in the canteens, and halting of the overpricing regime in the canteens.
  6. Both inmates and prison personnel that they are in contact with should be provided with adequate and proper protective materials.
  7. To protect the right to life, the demands of inmates should be evaluated urgently; rapid and effective measures should be undertaken in the fight against the pandemic. In this context, the protocols in the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 INFECTION) GUIDE[19], prepared and updated by the General Directorate of Public Health of the Ministry of Health, should be followed strictly in prisons.

 

 

[1]       https://covid19bilgi.saglik.gov.tr/depo/rehberler/COVID-19_Rehberi.pdf?type=file

[1]       http://www.bakirkoy.adalet.gov.tr/adl-duyuru/2020/05/220520.pdf

[1]       https://tr.euronews.com/2020/05/20/silivri-cezaevinde-covid-19-vakalar-endiseli-aileler-yetkililerden-gecici-tahliyeler-bekli

[1]       https://www.dw.com/tr/cezaevlerinde-salgına-karşı-tedbirler-yetersiz-mi/a-53502249

[2]       http://mezopotamyaajansi22.com/tum-haberler/content/view/97218

[3]       https://artigercek.com/haberler/karantinaya-alinan-3-tutukluya-test-yapilmadi

[1]       https://www.boldmedya.com/2020/05/15/silivri-karantinasindaki-3-isim-konustu-bu-son-gorusmemiz-olabilir-bize-vebali-gibi-davraniyorlar/

[2]       https://twitter.com/OhdVan/status/1261980171118301184

[3]       https://boldmedya.com/2020/05/18/silivride-bir-kisiye-daha-kovid-19-teshisi-konuldu/

[1]       http://aktifhaber.com/gundem/43-kisilik-kogusta-30-kisi-hasta-bulasik-deterjani-ve-soguk-su-ile-banyo-yapiyorlar-h145301.html

[2]       https://tihv.org.tr/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TürkiyeCovidHakİhlalleriSON.pdf

[1]       https://www.evrensel.net/haber/404769/silivri-cezaevinde-7-kisilik-kogusta-45-kisi-kalmaya-devam-ediyor

[1]       https://artigercek.com/haberler/silivri-cezaevi-nde-korona-c-7-kogusu-aciklandi-ya-b-12

[2]       https://twitter.com/gergerliogluof

[3]       https://kronos34.news/tr/gergerlioglu-silivri-cezaevinde-koronavirus-salgini-hizla-yayiliyor/

[4]       https://kronos34.news/tr/mahkum-yakinlari-silivride-maske-ve-eldiven-ilk-kez-dun-verildi/

[5]       https://boldmedya.com/2020/05/14/korona-risk-grubundaki-tutuklu-gazeteci-cetin-ciftcinin-testi-pozitif-cikti/

[1]       https://artigercek.com/haberler/silivri-cezaevi-nde-korona-c-7-kogusu-aciklandi-ya-b-12

[2]       https://twitter.com/gergerliogluof

[3]       https://kronos34.news/tr/gergerlioglu-silivri-cezaevinde-koronavirus-salgini-hizla-yayiliyor/

[4]       https://kronos34.news/tr/mahkum-yakinlari-silivride-maske-ve-eldiven-ilk-kez-dun-verildi/

[5]       https://boldmedya.com/2020/05/14/korona-risk-grubundaki-tutuklu-gazeteci-cetin-ciftcinin-testi-pozitif-cikti/

[1]       https://www.hrw.org/tr/news/2020/04/03/340344

[2]       https://twitter.com/cezaeviihlaller/status/1258461779543416834

 

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TÜRKİYE CEZAEVLERİNDEKİ KORONAVİRÜS VAKALARINA DAİR OLAY İNCELEMESİ, TESPİTLER VE ÖNERİLER

Bu çalışmamızda, küresel salgın sürecinde, Türkiye’deki cezaevlerinde görülen teyidli koronavirüs vakaları ve bu dönemdeki resmi açıklamalar ile bunlara dayalı olarak yapılan tespit ve önerilerimiz yer almaktadır.
Gerek tarafımıza ulaşan tutuklu ve hükümlü yakınlarının beyanları, gerek açık kaynaklarda yer alan yazılı ve sözlü ifadeler, gerekse de insan hakları aktivisti kişi ve kurumların paylaşımları ile görülüyor ki, Türkiye’de cezaevleri, kapasitesinin çok üzerinde doluluk oranı ile tutuklu ve hükümlüler için önü alınamayan yaşamsal riskler barındırıyor. Son dönemde gerçekleşen infaz düzenlemesi de, T.C. Anayasası’nın 10. maddesi ve AİHS 14. maddesine aykırı olarak, eşitsiz ve ayrımcı yapısı sebebiyle bu riski ortadan kaldırmaktan çok uzak ne yazık ki.

Koronavirüs Vakaları

Birçok kişi tarafından muhtelif sosyal paylaşım uygulamalarında paylaşılan ve içeriği, kaynak kişi tarafından da teyid edilen ses kayıtları ile cezaevlerindeki koşullar dile getirilmiş, pekçok tutuklu ve hükümlü yakını tarafından da benzer mahiyette yazılı paylaşımlarda bulunulmuştur. Bu paylaşımlarda, cezaevlerindeki tutuklu ve hükümlülerin T.C. Anayasası’nın 17. maddesi ve AİHS’in 2. maddesiyle koruma altında bulunan en temel ve evrensel insan hakkı mahiyetindeki yaşam hakkının açık, ağır ve yakın tehlike altında olduğunun bizzat tutuklu ve hükümlüler tarafından dile getirildiği görülmektedir.

Cezaevlerindeki koşulların aktarıldığı tutuklu/mahkum veya yakınlarına ilişkin beyanlar aşağıda derlenmiştir:

03 Nisan 2020: “68 yaşındaki Ahmet Türkmen’in, diğer ciddi sağlık sorunlarının yanı sıra, kronik kalp rahatsızlığı öyküsü var ve ciddi bir by-pass operasyonu geçirmiş. Son üç yıldır Kayseri 1 No’lu T-tip hapishanesinde tutuluyor ve terör örgütü üyesi olmak suçundan 2018 yılında aldığı 14 yıllık mahkumiyet kararı temyiz aşamasında. … Adli Tıp Kurumu’nun Türkmen’in altı ayda bir sağlık kontrolünden geçirilmesini tavsiye etmiş olmasına karşın, Türkmen son üç yılda sadece bir kez sağlık kontrolünden geçirilmiş. Üç kişilik bir koğuşta, 10 mahpusla birlikte kalan Türkmen’in yaşamı için KOVİD-19 ciddi bir risk oluşturabilir. Türkmen’in avukatı 18 Mart günü KOVİD-19 riskini gerekçe göstererek Türkmen’in sağlık durumu sebebiyle tahliyesi için Yargıtay’a başvuruda bulundu.

 “61 yaşındaki İsmet Özçelik, Malezya’daki bir okulun eski müdürü ve 2017 Mayıs’ından bu yana Türkiye’de, Denizli T-tipi hapishanesinde tutuluyor. Özçelik, Malezya’daki BM mülteci ajansına iltica başvurusu yapmış olmasına rağmen, Malezya’da kaçırılarak, zorla Türkiye’ye gönderilmiş. 2019 Mayıs’ında BM İnsan Hakları Komitesi Türkiye’nin, Özçelik’in Uluslararası Medeni ve Siyasi Haklar Sözleşmesi tarafından teminat altına alınan insan haklarını ihlal ettiğine, tahliye edilmesi ve kendisine tazminat ödenmesi gerektiğine karar verdi. Türkiye bu kararı uygulamadı. … Özçelik’in aldığı 10 yıllık mahkumiyet kararı halen temyiz aşamasında. Kalp rahatsızlığı bulunan Özçelik, 2019 yılında bir kalp krizi geçirdiğini hissettiği noktada zamanında tıbbi müdahale yapılmamış olduğunu bildirdi. Özçelik’in avukatı, Özçelik’in acil şikayetinden haftalar sonra geçirildiği sağlık kontrolüne ilişkin ayrıntılı raporun bir nüshasının kendisine verilmediğini belirtti. Özçelik’in avukatları Mart ayı ortalarında Özçelik’in sağlık durumu sebebiyle KOVİD-19 riski bağlamında tahliye edilmesi için Yargıtay’a başvuruda bulundular.”

 Eski bir polis memuru olan 48 yaşındaki Hüseyin Soykan 44 aydır Karaman M-tipi cezaevinde tutuluyor. … Soykan’ın kronik bir akciğer rahatsızlığı bulunduğunu ve geçmişte akciğerlerinden birinin sönmüş (pnömotoraks) olduğunu gösteren tıbbi raporlar var. Cezaevindeyken iki kez acilen hastaneye kaldırılmış. Soykan 8 kişilik bir koğuşta 28 mahpusla birlikte kalıyor. Aynı koğuştaki başka bir mahpus, Amir Gülaçtı, avukatının kötü hapishane koşullarının mahpusların sağlığını olumsuz etkilediği yönünde bir şikayette bulunmasından kısa bir süre sonra 20 Ekim 2019 tarihinde yaşamınıyitirmiş. Gülaçtı’nın ölüm sebebinin kalp yetmezliği olduğu düşünülüyor. Gülaçtı’nın ölümü ile ilgili Adli Tıp Kurumu’nun otopsi raporunun çıkması bekleniyor. Soykan’nın sağlık durumu KOVİD-19 karşısında ölümcül risk altında olduğu anlamına geliyor. Avukatı Soykan’ın sağlık durumu sebebiyle tahliye edilmesi için 19 Mart günü Yargıtay’a başvurdu.”[1]

08 Mayıs 2020: Silivri C.İ.K.7 nolu B12 koğuşunda Hüseyin Kaçan defalarca “Biz kötüyüz, bize test yapın” denmesine rağmen olumsuz cevap aldı. B 12 koğuşunda 39 kişi bulunmaktadır. 25 Nisanda corona belirtileri görülmesine rağmen cezaevi yönetimi hiç bir şekilde koğuşta bulunanlarla ilgilenmediği, koğuşta bulunan 48 yaşındaki birisi iftar saatinde bayıldıktan sonra işin ciddiyetini anlaşıldığı, Buna rağmen test yaptırılması için herhangi bir girişimde bulunmadığı iddia ediliyor.  Koğuşta kalanların ailesi Alo 184 ü araması sonucu Sağlık Bakanlığı cezaevine test için görevlileri göndermiştir. Testler 06.05.2020 tarihinde yapılmış 07.05.2020’de sonuçlanmış e nabızdan alınan raporlara göre koğuşta bulunan herkesin testi pozitif çıkmıştır. Buna rağmen cezaevi yönetimi hiç bir şekilde koğuşta bulunanlarla ilgilenmemektedir. Tedavileri için herhangi bir şey yapmamaktadırlar.[2]

08 Mayıs 2020:i Silivri 7 No’lu Cezaevi B-12 koğuşunda bulunan D, eşinin kalp hastası olan anne ve babasının durumdan haberi olmadığı için isimlerinin açıklanmasını istemiyor. 39 yaşındaki eşinin Covid-19 testinin pozitif çıktığını dün öğrenen D, Artı Gerçek’e yaptığı açıklamada yaşananları şöyle anlatıyor: “C-7’de vaka olduğunu öğrenince endişeliyim, sizin durumunuz ne diye sordum. ‘Pazartesi iki arkadaşı koğuştan aldılar ve bir daha getirmediler, bence pozitif çıktı. Zaten hepimiz hastalandık, grip gibi geçirdik, kusanlar oldu’ dedi. Test yapıldı mı, diye sordum. ‘Bırak test yapmayı sahur ve iftarı iki kaşık çorba ile geçiriyoruz. Durum çok vahim. İlk kez telefona çıkarken maske verdiler’ dedi.” C-7 koğuşunda kalan Yasin Solmaz’ın babası Ekrem Solmaz da oğlunun Covid-19 testinin pozitif çıktığını dün akşam öğrenmiş.[3]

 11 Mayıs 2020: HDP Kocaeli Milletvekili Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, Silivri Cezaevi’nde Covid-19 vakalarında ciddi artışlar olduğuna dikkat çekti. Daha önce Silivri 7 no’lu cezaevinde Covid-19 vakalarının olduğunu ve B-10, B-12, C-7 koğuşlarında Covid-19 vakalarına rastlandığını duyuran Gergerlioğlu, şimdi de Silivri 8 nolu cezaevindeki C-6 koğuşunda pozitif vakaların olduğunu ve vakaların 5 no’lu koğuşa da yayıldığını açıkladı.[4]

11 Mayıs 2020: Eşi C-6 koğuşunda tutuklu olan ve ismini vermek istemeyen tutuklu yakını, koğuşta 30 kişinin test sonucunun pozitif olduğunu, 4 kişinin test sonucunun ise negatif çıktığını, diğer 2-3 kişi hakkında bilgi alamadıklarını söyledi. Test sonuçları negatif çıkan tutuklular başka koğuşa alınırken, sonucu pozitif çıkan tutuklular ise bir arada kalmaya devam ediyor ancak hiçbir tedavi uygulanmıyor dedi. Durumu ciddi olan tutukluların bulunduğunu dile getiren tutuklu yakını, “aslında olay yeni değil, iki hafta önce koğuşta yüksek ateş şikayeti olanlar vardı fakat durum ciddiye alınmadı.Böylece herkese yayıldı” dedi.[5]

14 Mayıs 2020: Silivri’de 7 numaralı cezaevinde kalan Ali Rıza Karaboğa’nın telefon görüşmesi sırasında eşine aktardığı bilgiye göre, kaldıkları koğuşa komşu olan B-8 numaralı koğuştan iki kişiye koronavirüs testi yapıldığı ve testi pozitif çıkan mahkumların tekrardan kaldıkları koğuşa geri gönderildikleri öğrenildi.

Eşimle iki hafta önce yapmış olduğumuz telefon görüşünde süreç başladığından bu yana ilk defa ateşlerinin ölçüldüğünü bu hafta aradığında da aynı şekilde bir kez daha ateş ölçümleri yapıldığını, ve telefon görüşüne çıktıklarında maske verildiğini bize aktardı.[6] 

14 Mayıs 2020: 6 yıl 3 ay hapis cezası verilen ve 8 aydır Sincan Cezaevi’nde bulunan ve Korona risk grubundaki gazeteci Çetin Çiftçi’ye, Covid 19 tanısı konuldu. Böbrek ve kalp rahatsızlıkları olan Çiftçi’nin tedavi altında olduğu öğrenildi. Gazeteci Çetin Çiftçi’nin kronik rahatsızlıkları bulunması nedeniyle eşi Selda Çiftçi’nin kendi çabalarıyla yaptığı araştırmada, cezaevinde defalarca rahatsızlanarak hastaneye götürüldüğü ortaya çıktı.[7]

14 Mayıs 2020: Silivri Cezaevi’nde koronavirüs vakalarında büyük artış yaşandığını söyleyen HDP Milletvekili Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, 7 kişilik bazı koğuşlarda 45 kişi kaldığını ifade etti. Gergerlioğlu kendisine ailelerden ve mahpuslardan iletilen bazı mektupları da paylaştı. O mektuplardan birkaçı şöyle:

  •             “Z. A. Silivri 5 No’lu Kapalı Cezaevinde kalmaktadır. Annesi ile yaptığı telefon görüşmesinde; ateşinin olduğunu bu nedenle 2 defa revire götürüldüğünü daha sonra çağırılan ambulansta mahpustan ambulansın içinde bir örnek
  • alındığını ancak niçin örnek alındığına dair mahpusa bilgi verilmediğini ve hastaneye götürülmeden koğuşuna geri gönderildiğini aktarmıştır.”
  • Abim Silivri 2 No’lu Kapalı Cezaevinde kalmaktadır. Geçen hafta yaptığımız telefon görüşmesinde yemeklerin az verildiğini söylemişti. Abimin koronavirüs nedeniyle hayatından endişe etmekteyiz. 15 kişilik koğuşta 45 kişi kalıyorlar ve açık cezaevindeki tahliyeler nedeniyle yemekler çok sıkıntılıymış.
  • Silivri 7 No’lu Kapalı Cezaevinde mahpusların 43 kişi kaldıkları, içeride salgın olduğu, ishal, kusma gibi şikayetlerle 30 kişinin aynı sıkıntıyı yaşadığı, haftalardır kantin sorunu olduğu, sabun, şampuan ve peçete verilmediği, bulaşık deterjanıyla banyo yapıldığı, mahpusların soğuk suda yıkandığı.”
  • Silivri 7 No’lu Cezaevinde C-7 koğuşunda bir kişide Kovid-19 testi maalesef pozitif çıkmıştır. Koğuşta bulunan 45 kişi büyük risk altındadır. Koğuştaki diğer mahpuslara da bulaşmasından korkuyoruz.”
  • E; Silivri L Tipi 5 No’lu Kapalı Cezaevinde kalmaktadır. Ailesinin aktarımlarına göre; mahpusun hastalık belirtilerinden kuru öksürük şikayetleri olduğunu, kaldığı koğuşta kronik hastaların bulunduğunu, kişisel temizlik malzemelerin verilmediğini, düzenli olarak soğuk ve sıcak suyun akmadığını, koronavirüs salgınıyla ilgili yeterli bilgi verilmediğini, yemekhanelerde temizlik, hijyen ve sosyal mesafe kuralına uyulmadığını, yemeklerin sağlıksız ve kötü çıktığını, karantina odalarının bulunmadığını iletmiştir.”
  • Abim H. O. Silivri 8 No’lu Kapalı Cezaevinde kalmaktadır. Abimle konuştuğumuzda Covid-19 testi pozitif çıkan hastalar olduğu ve onlarla temas halinde olduklarını, cezaevi yönetiminden test yapılmasını talep ettiklerini ve olumsuz cevap geldiğini sö Abim koğuşlarda çok kalabalık kaldıklarını söylüyor. Abimin hayatından endişe ediyoruz. Abimin isteği üzerine test yapılmasını istiyoruz.”[8]

14 Mayıs 2020: “Eşim R.K. Silivri 8 No’lu L Tipi Cezaevi C-6 koğuşunda kalmaktaydı. Eşimin ilk Covid-19 test sonucu negatif. Bugün sabah ise E-Nabız’da 2. Bir test sonucu vardı ve sonuç pozitif çıkmış ama cezaevini aradığımda 2. bir test yapılmadığını, daha sonra yapılacağını söylediler. E-Nabız’da pozitif görünen bir test var ama cezaevi 2. test yapılmadığını söylüyor. Dün aradığımda test sonucu negatif olduğu için C-1 koğuşuna alındığını ve salı sabah yani bugün telefon görüşü olacağını söylediler fakat bugün cezaevini aradığımda pazar telefon görüşü olduğunu söylediler. Eşimden haber alamıyorum ve çok endişeliyim.”[9]

 14 Mayıs 2020: TİHV Dokümantasyon Merkezi tarafından hazırlanan, 11 Mart – 10 Mayıs 2020 tarifleri arasında Covid-19 salgını ile ilişkili hak ihlallerine yönelik rapor yayınlanmıştır. Rapora göre, uluslararası standart ve normlara gönderme yapan tüm ilke ve çağrılara karşın mahpusların aileleriyle görüşme hakkı tamamen ortadan kaldırılmış, avukat görüşmeleri kısıtlanmıştır. Ayrıca, cezaevlerinden kısıtlı olarak edinilen bilgi ve şikayetlerden de anlaşılacağı üzere BM İnsan Hakları Komiseri Michelle Bachelet’nin yaptığı uyarının aksine salgın koşullarında mahpusların, sağlığa, yiyecek ve suya, hijyen malzemelerine erişimde yaşadıkları ihlaller kötü muamele niteliğindedir.[10]

15 Mayıs 2020: Müebbet hapis cezasına çarptırılan askeri öğrenci Yasin Solmaz’ın eşi Şakire Solmaz, öğretmen M.T’nin eşi M.T ve polis memuru Ali Çiçek’in eşi B. Çiçek ile avukatlığını da yapan amcası Fatih Çiçek, bir hafta içinde yaşadıklarını anlattı. Üç isim, yakınlarının e-Nabız’dan elde ettikleri Kovid-19 teşhis raporlarını ve tahliye için mahkemelere sundukları dilekçeleri Bold Medya ile paylaştı. Yasin Solmaz’ın eşi Şakire Solmaz, “Bize vebalı gibi davranıyorlar, buraya kimse gelmiyor” dedi. 42 aydır Silivri Cezaevinde tutuklu olan Ali Çiçek de 7 Nolu Cezaevi B10 koğuşunda kalıyor. Eşi B. Çiçek, “İki gün ateşli yattı ama şu an iyiyim dedi ama koğuşun şartları çok kötü. Zaten normalde orada kalmak çok zor. Yemek sıkıntılı. Bu kadar azını hiç görmedik dedi. Kahvaltılık ürünlerini kantinden alıyorlardı, kapalı şimdi.Tuvalette sürekli sıra var. Buzdolabında bile sıra var, şartlar daha da ağırlaştı. Kalabalık ortam, biri iyi olsa, kötü olan onu etkiliyor.” dedi. 7 Nolu Cezaevi B12 koğuşunda kalanlardan biri de öğretmen M.T. 19 aydır tutuklu olan M.T’ye de 6 Mayıs’ta Kovid-19 teşhisi konuldu. Eşini 65 gündür göremediğini söyleyen M.T., 6 Mayıs’tan bugüne bir haftanın bir yıl gibi geldiğini söyleyip eşiyle yaptığı son telefon konuşmasını anlattı, “Eşimle en son iki gün önce çarşamba günü görüştük. 6 Mayıs’tan sonra bir hafta bir yıl gibi geçti. Gece 1.30’da doktora gitmiş gözüküyorsun, hayırdır dedim. Öyle bir şey yoktur dedi. Bize sadece test yapıldı. Daha gelen giden yok dedi. Her gün kontrolleri yaptıklarını göstermek için sisteme öyle işleniyor. Ateşlerini ölçülüyor sadece. Doktora götürmüyorlar ama sistemde doktora gitmiş gibi görünüyor. Orada tehlike altındalar. Hem bağışıklık sistemleri zayıfladı hem de izolasyon yok. 39 kişinin olduğu yerde nasıl izolasyon yapılacak. Kurala aykırı. İkincisi yemekleri çok sıkıntılı. İki haftadır meyve sebze hiçbir şey gelmiyor, dedi. Birkaç kaşık yemek yiyebiliyorlar. Biz burada ölüme terk edildik, gelip giden kimse yok. Başvurabildiğin yere başvur dedi.” dedi. [11]

17 Mayıs 2020: Öhd Van Şubesi ve Van Barosu Cezaevi Komisyonu ve Van Tuhay-Der olarak Van T Tipi, Van Yüksek güvenlikli, Van F Tipi Cezaevlerini bu haftaki ziyaretlerindeki gözlem ve tespitleri şu şekildedir[12]:

  • Cezaevlerinde Covid-19 salgını ile ilgili alınan önlemler kesinlikle yeterli değildir. Doluluk oranlarının fazlalığı, hijyen imkanlarından, koruyucu malzemelerden yoksunluk, sağlık ve tedavi imkanlarına erişememe sebebiyle mahpusların yaşam hakları büyük bir risk altındadır.
  • Özellikle koruyucu malzemelerin mahpuslara para ile satılması, fiyatların fahiş olması, koğuşlarda dezenfekte işlemlerinin kapsamlı ve sık sık gerçekleştirilmemesi, koğuştan çıkan mahpuslara üst araması yapılması yaşam haklarındaki riski kat be kat artırmaktadır.

 18 Mayıs 2020: Silivri 7 Nolu L Tipi Cezaevinde kalan bir kişiye de korona teşhisi konuldu. Hükümlü olarak cezaevinde bulunan Ali Kemal Ata’nın 16 Mayıs 2020’da e-Nabız’a düşen test sonucu pozitif. 29 kişiyle birlikte B8 koğuşunda kalan Ali Kemal Ata, üç yıldır tutukluydu. Eşiyle her pazartesi günü görüştüğünü söyleyen Vecide Tuba Ata, “Bugün eşimle görüşemeyeceğiz. Çünkü hastanede olduğunu biliyorum. Her gün kampüs içindeki hastaneyi arıyorum. Sadece cuma günü açtılar. Genel durumu iyi dediler ama endişeliyiz, merak içindeyiz. Durumunu e-nabızdan takip etmeye çalışıyorum.” dedi.[13]

 19 Mayıs 2020: Silivri Cezaevi’nde bulunan bir mahkum, ağır vakalar dışında tutuklu ve hükümlere test yapılmadığını öne sürüyor. Mahkum, eşi Y.S.’nin DW Türkçe’ye ilettiği telefon konuşması kaydında, eşine cezaevi koşullarını şöyle anlatıyor: “Savcılık Silivri Cezaevi’ndeki vaka sayısını 44 olarak açıkladı ama B10 koğuşunda 31, B12 koğuşunda 24 tane pozitif vaka varmış. Böyle olunca diyorlar ki bunlar, test yapılmasın, böyle kronik vaka olan olursa yani yerinden kalkamayacak gibi olan olursa ancak onlara test yapılsın. Onun haricinde test yapılmasını Bakanlık istemiyor. Yasak. Olur mu böyle şey dedik doktora ısrar edince bizi hastaneye gönderdi. 8 kişiden yedimiz pozitif çıktık. Şu an muhtemelen bizim koğuşta da hastalananlar var. Yani koğuşun tamamı hasta şu anda.” Mahkum, telefon görüşmesinde, test sonuçları belli olmadan karantina koğuşuna alındıklarını ancak içlerinden birinin testinin negatif çıktığını, bu mahkumun da muhtemelen negatif koğuşuna gönderileceğini öne sürüyor. Aynı mahkum endişesini şu sözlerle anlatıyor: “Burada zaten karantina marantina diye bir durum yok. Kendi kendine iyileşirsen iyileşirsin. Onun haricinde ölürsen öleceksin yapacak başka bir şey yok. Kimsenin umarında değilsin zaten burada. Kimsenin umrunda değilsin hem de.” 

DW Türkçe’ye konuşan tutuklu yakını Ş.S., Silivri Cezaevi’nde tutuklu olan eşinin karantina koğuşunda olduğunu ve bu koğuşta testi pozitif çıkan 39 mahpusun bir arada tutulduğunu söylüyor. Kendilerine daha önce karantina koğuşlarının 7-8 kişilik koğuşlar olduğu bilgisinin verildiğini belirten Ş.S., cezaevi müdürünün 39 kişilik rakamı avukatlarına teyit ettiğini öne sürdü. Ş.S., eşinin aktardığına göre, koğuşta 39 kişi olmasına rağmen yemeklerinin 15 kişilik verildiğini, temizlik ve hijyenin kısıtlı olduğunu, en son 3 gün önce ateşlerinin ölçüldüğünü, bunun da gardiyanlar tarafından içeriye girilmeden kapının mazgalına yaklaşılarak yapıldığını, cezaevinde yeterli gardiyan olmadığı için mahpusların seslerini duyuramadıklarını iddia etti. 

S.E., Silivri 7 no’lu cezaevinde aile telefon görüşmesi için koğuşlarından çıkan mahkumlara ilk kez 11 Mayıs’ta maske ve eldiven verildiğini iddia etti. Tutuklu yakını S.Ş. ise “Verdikleri bilgi sadece iyi. Ben eşimin hastalığını E-Nabız uygulamasından öğrendim. Şimdi ise uygulama üzerinden takip edemiyorum. Neden E-Nabız sisteminden takip edemiyoruz sorusu karşısında da artık E-Nabız sistemine kayıtların girilemeyeceğini söylediler” dedi. [14]

19 Mayıs 2020: Silivri 7 Nolu L Tipi Cezaevi’nde Kovid-19 testi pozitif çıkan tutuklu Yasin Solmaz’ın babası Ekrem Solmaz, oğluna grip ilacı verilerek koğuşa gönderildiğini paylaşarak, “39 kişi aynı koğuşta kalıyor. Bu katliamdır” dedi. Konuya ilişkin aradığımız Silivri 7 No’lu L Tipi Kapalı Cezaevi yetkilileri, bilgi veremeyeceklerini belirterek, Cumhuriyet Başsavcılığı’nın aranması gerektiğini ifade etti.[15]

20 Mayıs 2020: Özgürlük İçin Hukukçular Derneği (ÖHD) Ankara Şubesi avukatları ve Halkların Demokratik Partisi (HDP) Iğdır Milletvekili Habip Eksik, Kayseri Bünyan Kadın Cezaevi ile Kayseri Bünyan 2 Nolu T Tipi Kapalı Cezaevi’ni ziyaret etti. Heyet, tutuklular ve cezaevi idaresiyle yaptığı görüşmeleri raporlaştırdı.ÖHD Ankara Şubesi tarafından hazırlanan raporda, Kayseri Bünyan Kadın Kapalı Cezaevi’nde, 5 kadın tutuklu ile görüşme gerçekleştirildiği bilgisi verildi. Raporda, 3 kişinin muayene ardından karantinaya alındığı ancak koronavirüs testi yapılmadığı aktarıldı, bir tutuklunun öksürük ve boğaz kuruluğu şikayetlerinin devam ettiği bilgisi de yer aldı.[16]

20 Mayıs 2020: “Silivri cezaevindeki kardeşime salgın belirtilerinin 10. gününde test yapıldı. Testi pozitif çıktı. İlaç tedavisinin uygulandığını söyleyen kardeşim, kalabalık koğuşlarda kaldıklarını ifade etti. Yemeklerin sorunlu olduğunu ve kendi temizliklerini de kendilerinin yaptıklarını aktardı. Bu şartlarda kardeşimin cezaevinde kalamayacağına dair cezaevi yönetimine başvuruda bulunduk ancak olumlu bir dönüş yok.” Silivri cezaevinde koronavirüs testi pozitif çıkan tutuklu Hüseyin Kaçan’ın ağabeyi Barış Kaçan’a ait bu ifadeler. 23 aydır Silivri cezaevinde olan Hüseyin Kaçan aynı zamanda mide ağrıları ve dizlerinde sorunlar yaşayan bir tutuklu. Ağabeyinin aktarımına göre normal şartlarda bile cezaevi koşulları kendisini zorluyor, sık sık ağrılar yaşıyor ve hastalanıyor. Covid-19 semptomlarının giderek daha çok kendisini hissettirmesiyle 10. günde yapılan test sonucu hasta olduğunu öğrenmiş. Aslında belirtiler başladığı andan itibaren o ve diğer tutuklular test talepleri için cezaevi yönetimine başvurular yapmış ama reddedilmiş.

 Yine Silivri 7 No’lu cezaevinde tutuklu olan Burak Çelen’in de bir hafta önce yapılan Covid-19 testi pozitif çıktı. E-Nabız sisteminden eşi Burak Çelen’in koronavirüse yakalandığını öğrenen Sevda Çelen, avukatı aracılığıyla eşinin hastanede tedavi altına alınmasını talep edince eşi 7 Mayıs’ta hastaneye kaldırıldı. Sevda Çelen, eşinin hastanede bir günlük müşahade altına alınmasının ardından beş günlük ilaç tedavisi verilerek, cezaevinin karantina koğuşuna gönderildiğini söyledi. Sevda Çelen, en son yaptığı telefon görüşmesinde ise eşinden cezaevi koşullarının iyi olmadığını öğrendi. 39 kişilik karantina koğuşunda bulunan Burak Çelen’in aktardıklarına göre koğuşlara verilen yemek miktarı 15 kişilik ve kantin kapalı. Ateş ölçümlerinin düzenli yapılmadığı, beş günlük ilaç tedavisinden sonra test yapılmadığı ve temiz havanın olmadığı ve hijyen sorunları da Covid-19 hastası tutuklu Burak Çelen’in aktardıkları arasında.

 Euronews’in ulaştığı koronavirüs hastası Yasin Solmaz’ın avukatı Cevriye Aydın ise bu durumun insan hakları ihlali olduğuna dikkat çekiyor. Müvekkilinin sağlıklı koşullarda olmadığını söyleyen avukat Aydın, yetkililerin pandemi sürecinde cezaevindekiler için geçici çözümler sunmaları gerektiğine dikkat çekiyor: ”Hangi görüşten, inançtan olursa olsun cezaevinde yaşayan herkes devletin güvencesi altındadır. Öncelikle yaşam hakkının devlet tarafından güvence altına alınması söz konusudur. Aksi takdirde devlet sorumlu olur. Öncelik burada tutukluların yaşam hakkının güvence altına alınmasıdır. Ben o tutukluların yaşam hakkı için panik halindeyim. Dışarıda da Covid-19’dan insanlar ölüyor, ama dışarıda olunca kendi iradesi ile bulaşı alması söz konusu. Ancak bu cezaevinde olunca bu tamamen devletin, hükümetin, iktidarın siyasi ve hukuki her türlü sorumluluğu altında gerçekleşen bir olaydır.”[17]

Resmi Açıklamalar

Bahsi geçen beyanlarda yer alan hususlar, Türkiye Hükümeti ve kamu görevlilerinin, küresel Koronavirüs salgını sürecinde gerekli tedbirleri almak bir yana, sorumluluğu altındaki kişilerin yaşamlarını ve sağlıklarını korumaları için zorunlu temel ihtiyaçlarının ve hastalığın bulaşmasını önlemek için gerekli fiziksel koşulların dahi karşılanmadığını, ortaçağ karanlığındaki uygulamaların benzeri “toplu tecrit” sebebiyle cezaevlerinde toplu ölümlere sebep olunabileceğini açıkça ortaya koymaktadır.

Cezaevlerinde tespit edilen koronavirus vakalarına dair basına yansıyan resmi açıklamalara ilişkin özet içerikler aşağıda yer almaktadır:

08 Nisan 2020: Bafra Cezaevi’nde şeker hastası olduğu öğrenilen Mehmet Yeter adlı bir hükümlünün geçtiğimiz günlerde bacağı kesilerek yeniden cezaevine gönderildiği ve üç gün sonra Covid-19 hastalığı nedeniyle yaşamını yitirdiği iddia edildi. Bafra Cumhuriyet Başsavcılığı’nın,  Mehmet Yeter’in Covid-19 hastalığı nedeniyle yaşamını yitirmediğine ilişkin açıklamasına rağmen, Mehmet Yeter’in oğlu olduğunu söyleyen Ferhat Yeter adlı kullanıcı, sosyal medya hesabından cumhuriyet savcılığına ait olduğu ileri sürülen yazı ile babası Mehmet Yeter’in cenaze işlemlerinin yazıldığı belgeleri paylaştı.

20 Nisan 2020: İzmir Cumhuriyet Başsavcılığı, Buca Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumu’ndaki tutuklu H.A.’ya yapılan yeni tip koronavirüs testinin pozitif çıktığını açıkladı.

 22 Nisan 2020: İzmir Cumhuriyet Başsavcılığı, Buca Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumunda korona virüsü testi pozitif çıkan ilk vakanın ardından 64 tutuklu ve hükümlünün daha testinin pozitif çıktığı bildirdi.

 

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[1]    https://tr.euronews.com/2020/05/20/silivri-cezaevinde-covid-19-vakalar-endiseli-aileler-yetkililerden-gecici-tahliyeler-bekli

[2]    https://twitter.com/OhdVan/status/1261980171118301184

[3]    https://boldmedya.com/2020/05/18/silivride-bir-kisiye-daha-kovid-19-teshisi-konuldu/

[4]    https://www.dw.com/tr/cezaevlerinde-salgına-karşı-tedbirler-yetersiz-mi/a-53502249

[5]    http://mezopotamyaajansi22.com/tum-haberler/content/view/97218

[6]    https://artigercek.com/haberler/karantinaya-alinan-3-tutukluya-test-yapilmadi

[7]    http://aktifhaber.com/gundem/43-kisilik-kogusta-30-kisi-hasta-bulasik-deterjani-ve-soguk-su-ile-banyo-yapiyorlar-h145301.html

[8]    https://tihv.org.tr/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TürkiyeCovidHakİhlalleriSON.pdf

[9]    https://www.boldmedya.com/2020/05/15/silivri-karantinasindaki-3-isim-konustu-bu-son-gorusmemiz-olabilir-bize-vebali-gibi-davraniyorlar/

 [10]    https://www.evrensel.net/haber/404769/silivri-cezaevinde-7-kisilik-kogusta-45-kisi-kalmaya-devam-ediyor

[11]    https://artigercek.com/haberler/silivri-cezaevi-nde-korona-c-7-kogusu-aciklandi-ya-b-12

[12]    https://twitter.com/gergerliogluof

[13]    https://kronos34.news/tr/gergerlioglu-silivri-cezaevinde-koronavirus-salgini-hizla-yayiliyor/

[14]    https://kronos34.news/tr/mahkum-yakinlari-silivride-maske-ve-eldiven-ilk-kez-dun-verildi/

[15]    https://boldmedya.com/2020/05/14/korona-risk-grubundaki-tutuklu-gazeteci-cetin-ciftcinin-testi-pozitif-cikti/

[16]    https://www.hrw.org/tr/news/2020/04/03/340344

[17]    https://twitter.com/cezaeviihlaller/status/1258461779543416834

 

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BORN AND RAISED IN PRISON: TURKEY’S CAPTIVE CHILDREN

International human rights standards are increasingly understood to require special and improved care for women prisoners with children. Pregnant women, women in the post-partum phase of childbirth, and crucially, newborns, require access to intensive and routine medical services and highest attainable prison standards. Imprisoned women with children face distinct challenges that other prisoners may not experience while they serve their sentences. In international human rights terms, rights of women with children fall under three categories and are protected by instruments of international law which enumerate the rights of prisoners, women, and mothers. In the Turkish Republic, governed by President Recep T. Erdogan and Justice and Development Party (AKP), the treatment of women prisoners and their children has deteriorated since 2016, the year during which Turkey experienced a general shift towards authoritarianism. At the time of this publication, the first quarter of 2020, the Turkish government’s treatment of women prisoners and their children falls radically short of standards detailed by landmark instruments put forth by the United Nations and adopted by the international community. Developments pertaining to the rights of women and children signal the continued deterioration of these rights under the current government without legitimate efforts to improve conditions by Turkish authorities.

This report is based on desk research and interviews with former prisoners conducted mainly via telephone and skype in January to March 2020. It was not possible to interview prisoners who remain behind bars and others who continue to live in Turkey as they fear government retribution for sharing their stories. The report proceeds by analyzing the current condition of prisons in Turkey as they pertain to pregnant women and women with dependent children. The analysis provides a succinct overview of the ongoing violations in Turkish prisons by comparing and contrasting current practices of the Turkish government with the universally recognized and widely ratified United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders (Bangkok Rules). The analysis is composed of part commentary and part interview data. The details of each violation are interwoven directly into the comments to provide a vivid and relatable description of victims’ experiences. Volunteer interviewers for Advocates of Silenced Turkey conducted telephonic interviews with victims whose identities have been anonymized for this report. While some of these women have agreed for AST to publicize their identity, we have currently chosen to keep all data anonymous in order to protect the families of victims who continue to live in Turkey and may face persecution as a direct result of this publication. All interviews have been audio recorded with permission, transcribed, and translated with special attention paid to preserving the authenticity of the information shared by interviewees. Volunteers who conducted interviews utilized an organic conversational tone throughout each meeting, however, they were appropriately trained to effectively extract certain data from each woman. All questions used by interviewers were distilled from relevant international human rights instruments. The Tokyo Rules and Bangkok Rules in particular have played a critical role in shaping and directing the language and content of the questionnaire.

In the second and final part of the report, AST has created a catalog of all victims whose information has been made available through open-source research platforms. The desk research conducted by our associates has mainly relied on social media platforms, especially Twitter, which remain as final standing sources of real news in the Republic of Turkey. In a strictly controlled media environment, news regarding victims of the presiding government receives little to no attention. Thus, our cataloging efforts rely on publicly available information often volunteered by victims or close friends and relatives of victims on social media platforms. The information contained in the catalog section of this report will continue to be updated with increasingly more reliable data and sources as they become available over time.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Advocates of Silenced Turkey urges conscientious objectors, relevant human rights organizations, and UN special rapporteurs to encourage the government of Turkey to implement four major recommendations related to improving the living conditions of captive mothers and babies, by:

 Urging the Turkish government to effective immediately revise its policy of imprisonment towards pregnant women and women with dependent children. Non-custodial sentences shall be preferred where possible and appropriate, especially when prison conditions pose a threat to the lives of mothers and children.

 Urging the Turkish Ministry of Justice to eliminate excessive overcrowding in prison dormitories, dedicate increased resources to the physical and mental wellbeing of women and children, provide maternity support before and after birth, and ensure access to adequately nutritional food.

 Encouraging independent organizations to organize and promote transparent research on the number of children affected by their mothers’ confrontation with the criminal justice system in order to contribute to policy formulation and program development, taking into account the best interests of the children.

 Urging Turkish authorities to liaise with international criminal justice experts to develop better institutional safeguards & provide training to prison administrators and staff in order to prepare them to respond correctly to the day-to-day needs of imprisoned mothers and children.

 

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KEY HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN TURKEY SINCE THE SO-CALLED COUP ATTEMPT

Following the so-called coup attempt on the 15th of July 2016, the Turkish government under the authoritarian leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken a wave of oppressive actions against not only the alleged coup plotters but also those that are perceived as critics of the regime. Currently, as part of Turkey’s post-coup crackdown, more than 130,000 people including judges, academics, teachers, journalists, police and military officers, and other public servants have been dismissed from their jobs. In correlation, more than 217,000 have been detained and 160,000 have been arrested. Amnesty International reports that detainees were “being held arbitrarily” with “no evidence establishing reasonable suspicion of criminal behavior” and that “only a tiny minority of them were accused of taking part in the actual events of the attempted coup”.

Amid the massive crackdown of hundreds of thousands of dissidents, human rights organizations and the U.N. Human Rights Council have noted that human rights are violated on a large scale by the Turkish government. Arbitrary killings, suspicious deaths of people in custody, forced disappearances, tortures, ill-treatments, injustice, and threats – mostly against the followers of the Gulen Movement, Kurds, and the Leftists – have been reported widespread during this large-scale witch-hunt.

As people continue to be arrested and many more tortured and abducted, the present brief of Advocates of Silenced Turkey (AST) highlights some of the key human rights concerns that have taken place in Turkey during this on-going period.

●  UNPRECEDENTED SCALE OF DISMISSALS: 

More than 130,000 public servants, with their names attached in lists to emergency orders, were dismissed by emergency decrees. These public servants included over 4,463 judges and prosecutors, 6,021 academics, 6,000 health-care professionals, 33,500 teachers, and 44,500 police and military officers. Not only were people dismissed arbitrarily but also banned permanently from working in the public sector – many were even banned to practice their profession.

  • COLLAPSE OF JUDICIARY SYSTEM:

With approximately 4,463 judges and prosecutors (including two judges from the Turkey’s highest court) dismissed permanently, over one-fifth of Turkey’s judiciary has been removed. Of those dismissed, at least 2,200 were jailed with their assets frozen due to their alleged links to the Gulen movement. Consequently, the climate of fear paralyzed the judges and prosecutors who still have their positions. The fear combined with the heavy government influence in the court system led to the collapse of the judiciary system and the deterioration of human rights in the country. As a result, Turkey ranked 109 out of 126 countries in 2019 on the rule of law index of the World Justice Project.

  • VICTIMIZATION OF LAWYERS:

Lawyers are among the many groups affected by the post-coup crackdown in Turkey. They were unlawfully associated with their clients’ alleged crimes. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that many lawyers were targeted with criminal investigations with little or no evidence. According to the Arrested Lawyers Initiative, over 1,500 lawyers were persecuted over the past three years including 14 lawyers who were presidents of provincial bar associations – of those persecuted lawyers, one third remained imprisoned before and during their trials, and 274 were convicted of membership of armed terrorist organizations and sentenced to long prison sentences. Furthermore, approximately 34 bar associations were shut down by presidential decree with alleged affiliations to terrorist organizations.

  • PERSECUTION OF ACADEMICS:

Following the coup attempt, 3,003 private schools and 15 universities linked to the Gülen movement were closed by a presidential decree. Eventually resulting in the displacement of over 60,000 students across the country. Over 8,500 academics reportedly lost their jobs either due to direct dismissals or university closures since September 2016 – and many of them were imprisoned. Large-scale dismissals of academics and teachers significantly damaged the education sector thus diminished the right to education.

  • BOOKS DESTROYED:

Turkey’s education minister Ziya Selçuk announced last week that 301,878 books had been destroyed as the government cracks down on anything linked to Fethullah Gülen. Turkish newspaper BirGün reported that 1.8m textbooks had been destroyed and reprinted for containing the “objectionable” word Pennsylvania, which is where Gülen lives.

  • THE MEDIA PURGE FOLLOWING THE ATTEMPTED COUP: 

In the aftermath of the failed coup, the government closed down 200 media outlets – including 53 newspapers, 37 radio stations, 34 TV channels, 29 publishing houses, 20 magazines, and six news agencies – with accused links to the Gulen movement, Kurdish opposition, or Leftists groups. Consequently, a total of 2,308 media workers and journalists have lost their jobs. The government canceled hundreds of press accreditations and revoked passports of an unknown number of journalists and their family members to ban them from traveling abroad. In addition, the government imprisoned a record-breaking number of journalists in the wake of the coup attempt – with that, Turkey became the world’s largest prison for journalists. The Platform for Independent Journalism (P24) reported that at least 126 journalists and media workers were in prison in Turkey as of October 2019 – among them, many were put in long solitary confinement. 

The absence of freedom of expression is not only a recurring problem for journalists but for citizens as well. In 2018, the Ministry of Interior reported that more than 7,000 individuals were detained for their social media posts after investigating 631,233 digital materials. In relation to the censorships and content restrictions in the country, Wikipedia has been blocked in Turkey since April of 2017. Currently, out of the 180 countries, Turkey ranks 157th on the Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders and is listed among ‘not free’ countries by the Freedom House.

  • CRACKDOWN ON HEALTH CARE SECTOR:

Turkish government has shut down 14 hospitals and 36 medical centers after the coup attempt on the pretext of alleged ties to the Gülen movement. Therefore, an estimated 21,000 health care professionals were laid off – including doctors, academics, nurses, midwives, and other hospital staff. Of those, 5,261 are medical doctors and academics who specialize in the medical sciences. The figures of how many health care professionals have been detained, arrested or currently in prison are estimated in the thousands. Given the longstanding issue of hospital and staff shortages in the country, the dismissals of health care professionals and the closure of hospitals left many patients in despair of medical care.

  • PRISON CONDITIONS:

With the persecution of tens of thousands of critics, the current population in Turkish prisons is 4-5 times higher than the normal capacity – it has increased from 171,267 inmates in 2015 to 260,144 in 2018. Given the capacity of 211,766, inmates are forced to remain in overcrowded cells. In order to free up space for more political prisoners, the government released nearly 34,000 convicts from prisons. The inadequate provision of health care to prisoners also remains a serious problem. Officially reported by the Ministry of Justice Prison and Correctional Facilities, there were 271 doctors serving nearly a quarter-million of the prison population – of whom, only eight were full-time. Insufficient access to freshwater, proper heating, ventilation, and lighting are other concerns for prison conditions. There are 62,669 political prisoners, 4,000 of them being women and 780 of them being children.

  • TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT:

Despite the government’s zero-tolerance claim for torture policy, human rights groups have reported widespread and systematic use of torture and ill-treatment in police custody following the coup-attempt – including severe beatings, threats of sexual assault and actual sexual assault, electric shocks, waterboarding, sleep deprivation, stress positions, long solitary confinement, and depriving of food and water. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) stated acts of torture and ill-treatment aimed “at extracting confessions or forcing detainees to denounce other Individuals” in its report on Turkey in 2017. The Human Rights Association (HRA) reported that the number of incidents where prisoners were subjected to torture and ill-treatment in detention centers and prisons was 2,178 in 2016, 2,415 in 2017, and 1,505 in 2018. The Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF) reported a total of 126 suspicious deaths and suicides since the coup attempt – most of those occurred in detention centers and prisons, seemingly a direct result of torture and ill-treatment.

  • ABDUCTIONS AND ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES:

In the aftermath of the coup attempt, forced disappearances made a comeback in Turkey. Opposing politicians and respected human rights groups claimed at least 128 abductions or possible enforced disappearances of individuals. Most of the victims were identified as dismissed public servants with alleged ties to the Gulen movement or critics of the government. Allegedly, victims were abducted outside detention facilities and illegally questioned and tortured by Turkey’s intelligence agency. Moreover, Turkey’s intelligence agency reportedly abducted over more than 100 alleged Gulen affiliates from 18 countries – individuals often deported illegally – against the universal conventions – by cooperative governments without due process.

  • WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN PRISON:

The prison conditions for women and children are exceedingly alarming. According to the Justice Ministry, as of 2017, nearly 10,000 women and 3,000 children under 18 are in Turkey’s prisons. The inhumane prison conditions also hold weight in women prisons. They face additional issues of the male security staff frequently obstructing their privacy during hospital visits, oftentimes leading to an incomplete examination.  Among the prisoners, there are more than 30 pregnant women or women who just gave birth and 780 children under 6 years old imprisoned along with their mothers – including 149 infants under 1-year-old. Pregnant women are forced to stay with other inmates in overcrowded cells, also denied access to proper prenatal care – posing serious risks to their well-being. Likewise, mothers with children are also forced to share a cell with inmates.

Even when prison authorities are willing to let the child see a doctor, they do not allow mothers to accompany them. Children have to sleep in the same bed with their mothers and are not assigned a cradle or a separate bed.

The state pays $2 a day per prisoner for food. Since children are not technically incarcerated, they are not allotted any daily food rations and share their mother’s meals.

More than %80 of children in jail with their mothers do not receive any education.

Only %18 receive kindergarten or nursery services, but even then, there is a shortage of educational materials.

  • RESTRICTIONS ON RIGHT TO TRAVEL:

Another unlawful activity being pursued during this period is revoking the passports of government critics with perceived affiliations to the Gulen movement, Kurdish opposition, Leftists groups and their family members. On this ground, the Turkish government put restrictions on approximately 155,000 passports, reported by the SCF. Since their passports are restricted, many people, with the fear of persecution, use smuggler routes to flee from the country. Unfortunately, many died in the Evros River and the Aegean Sea. Turkey revoking its citizens’ passports also causes travel struggles for those across the world.

  • SEIZURE OF DISSIDENTS’ ASSETS:

The Turkish government abuses laws to seize assets of its critics. As of March 2018, the government had seized the assets of approximately 1,124 businesses and 127 individuals. According to the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund of Turkey, the net worth of the seized assets is an estimated $32.24 billion since the 2016 coup attempt. Moreover, in most cases, the government freezes the assets of those on trial, financially crippling them and their families.

SOURCES

  1. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/07/turkey-independent-monitors-must-be-allowed-to-access-detainees-amid-torture-allegations/ https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/europe-and-central-asia/turkey/report-turkey/
  2. https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/turkey/

          https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/TR/2018-03-19_Second_OHCHR_Turkey_Report.pdf

  1. https://turkeypurge.com/turkey-jails-2431-judges-prosecutors-dismisses-4424-to-date-top-court
  2. https://worldjusticeproject.org/sites/default/files/documents/ROLI-2019-Reduced.pdf
  3. https://silencedturkey.org/lawyers-on-trial-abusive-prosecutions-and-erosion-of-fair-trial-rights-in-turkey-2

         https://arrestedlawyers.org/2019/09/01/new-report-mass-prosecution-of-lawyers-in-turkey/

  1. https://silencedturkey.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/AcademicsAtRisk.pdf
  2. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/aug/06/turkish-government-destroys-more-than-300000-books
  3. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/11/brothers-critical-turkish-regime-arrested-after-tv-programme

         https://tr.euronews.com/2019/07/12/verilerle-15-temmuz-sonras-ve-ohal-sureci

  1. https://expressioninterrupted.com/freedom-of-expression-and-the-press-in-turkey-211/
  2. https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/turkey/
  3. http://www.tuik.gov.tr/PreHaberBultenleri.do?id=27610

          https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/turkey-coup-attempt-latest-releases-almost-34000-prisoners-in-amnesty-amid-international-alarm-over-a7221451.html

  1. https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/turkey/
  2. https://www.ihd.org.tr/sample-page-2/
  1. https://stockholmcf.org/suspicious-deaths-and-suicides-in-turkey-updated-list/
  2. https://correctiv.org/en/top-stories-en/2018/12/06/black-sites/
  3. http://www.tuik.gov.tr/PreHaberBultenleri.do?id=27610

         https://7dnews.com/news/inmates-facing-poor-living-conditions-and-death-in-turkish-prisons

  1. https://stockholmcf.org/turkeys-dismissed-academics-want-their-passports-back-after-state-of-emergency-lifted/
  2. https://twitter.com/platformpj/status/1234421262052732928/photo/1

         http://www.platformpj.org/report-the-erosion-of-property-rights-in-turkey/

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Human Rights Digest: January 2020 Articles

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TURKEY: MONTHLY HUMAN RIGHTS DIGEST January 2020

  1. A Mother’s Plea for Help: The Tumor is Spreading, My Daughter is Sick

On February 27, 2018, Sevgi Sezer, a critically-ill primary school teacher, was imprisoned for 7 years and 6 months due to her affiliation with the Hizmet Movement. After nearly two years, Sezer continues to suffer from a malicious tumor on her back while forcedly sharing an overcrowded prison cell with 16 other women prisoners. Sezer was denied medical attention for a long time despite making many requests while the tumor on her back, a constantly growing vascular malformation, went undiagnosed for 9 months. Sezer’s deprivation of medical assistance led to the painful growth of the tumor, causing her immense suffering and severely limiting her mobility. The appeals court continues to stall action on Sezer’s case as she suffers despite concrete medical evidence that warrants close medical attention and release from imprisonment. Teacher Sezer’s mother made an emotional appeal to authorities: “I could not hug my daughter in my last visit because the tumor spread all over her back. I am calling government officials to take action; my daughter is sick, in pain. She needs treatment.”

  1. 70 Turkish Air Force Academy Cadets Receive Life Sentence for “Courtroom Behavior”

On January 3, 2020, the 24th Istanbul High Criminal Court sentenced 70 Turkish Air Force Academy Students, aged 18-23, to aggravated life imprisonment. The Turkish Court charged all 70 of the cadets with violating the constitution, merging their cases under the overarching July 15 Coup Attempt trials. While the cadets’ involvement in the coup attempt has not been evidenced, the court found the cadets guilty of intent to aid and abet the coup attempt. Moreover, the presiding judge changed his original sentencing to a lifetime sentence and defended his decision by blaming the alleged contrarian behavior of the defendants during court proceedings. While the cadets can appeal the court order, the hysteria revolving around the July 15 failed coup attempt has effectively eliminated all avenues of justice and exoneration.

  1. Philanthropist Melek Ipek, “Angel Mom”, Sentenced for Hizmet Affiliation

On January 9, 2020, the 24th Ankara High Criminal Court sentenced Melek Ipek and her son Cafer Ipek to 12 and 79 years of imprisonment, respectively. The overarching case brought against billionaire Akin Ipek and the Ipek Family Estate found all family members guilty for providing financial support to the charity activities of the Hizmet Movement. Since five family members had escaped Turkey due to the undue political and judicial process, the Ankara court put their cases on hold while charging Melek Ipek with “opposition to tax law”, a bogus charge that, as it now appears, has been included to target the Ipek family’s vast financial estate. The court ordered for the seizure of all financial assets, dividends, and shares of all Ipek family members who hold stock in the Ipek Holding Company.

  1. Another Victim of the Hysteria: Left-Leaning Sports Reporter Fired from Job

On January 8, 2020, Fatma Karaagac, a left-leaning former sports reporter for Haberturk TV, gave an interview regarding her termination. In her remarks, Karaagac complained that she was fired for international political reasons while the company firing her blamed her alleged affiliation with the Hizmet Movement. Karaagac was neither sued or summoned to court. The prosecutorial hysteria directed against the Hizmet Movement continues to ransack the lives of thousands of people. The unquestioned vilification of the Hizmet Movement by the Turkish government allows for opportunists and people with personal vendettas to accuse anyone and any time of Hizmet affiliation to cause serious damage to their lives. Fatma Karaagac is a recent and prime example.

  1. Former Teacher from Adana Sentenced 7.5 Years for Teacher’s Union Membership

On January 8, 2020, the Adana 12th Heavy Criminal Court found Mehmet Onuk guilty and sentenced him for 7 years and 6 months. According to the court order, Mr. Onuk’s alleged crimes consist of using ByLock, a mobile chat application, holding religious study circles in his home, and being a member of a government-sanctioned worker’s union. Mehmet Onuk, like countless others, was charged for these crimes as part of the ongoing persecution campaign against the Hizmet Movement.


 


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TAKE ACTION ; INTERNATIONAL ART CONTEST

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Subject: Human Rights Violations in Turkey.

  • Certificates for the best 10 artists.
  • The best 10 artworks will be displayed at the prestigious National Press Club in Washington, DC.

1ST PLACE $1.000
2ND PLACE $500
3RD PLACE $250

All varieties of art will be acceptable submissions
Dimensions: At least 11 x 17 inch Send your artwork to art@silencedturkey.org

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