The families of the arrested and of the convicts issued a press release today (on Wednesday) at the Istanbul Office of the Human Right Organization (IHD). They addressed the Ministry of Justice, concerning the death fasts. They asked, "Are we to receive the corpses of our children?"
Standing at Attention During Count
Ümit Efe, from the Human Rights Organization, reported that the arrested, staying in solitary confinement cells in the Kandira, Sincan, Edirne and Tekirdag F type prisons, are being counted in the same manner as in the military barracks. The arrested have to stand at attention while being counted. Umit Efe has reported that if the arrested refuse to obey this order, authorities resort to violence and the inmates are tortured.
Efe has reported that the incidents of beatings and torture are wide spread, and are frequently being practiced during the transfers of the arrested and as they are being sent to the clinic or to the hospital. Efe has further stated that when the arrested are sent to the clinic or to the hospital, the examination and medicine costs have to be covered by the arrested and the convicts themselves. Efe reported that at the Tekirdag F type prison, there are a number of arrested and convicts who have not yet been taken out to have fresh air walks.
"Though they were in the purview of the amnesty law they were not allowed to benefit from it"
In December 2000, the Turkish Parliament passed a conditional general amnesty.
Muzaffer Yali, father of Deniz Yali, a prisoner in the Kandira F Type Prison said that his son was initially in the Umraniye Prison. He was convicted of 'providing assistance and housing to an illegal organization'. Muzaffer Yali stressed the point that this crime falls within the purview of the amnesty.
Yali, made the following explanation:
"Following the operation in the Umraniye prison, a lawsuit was brought against the arrested and the convicts there. The authorities claimed that the arrested and the convicts had rebelled against the state and had damaged the state property.
"My son was supposed to be released in accordance with the Law of Amnesty. Yet, due to this lawsuit, he was instead transferred to the Kandira F Type prison.
"There are still tens of convicts in the Kandira F Type Prison, who fall within the purview of the Conditional Release Law and whose previous crimes have been pardoned.
"Our visiting hours are being reduced"
Halise Ates, the mother of Erkan Aygonen who is a prisoner at the Kandira F Type Prison, stated the fact that the visiting hour in the prisons normally lasts an hour. Yet, she remarked that after the searches and controls are completed, what remains of their visiting hour is only to 20 minutes. She reported that her son can not stand on his feet, and that he is brought to the sight of visit by being dragged.
Ates claims that her son is wasting away in front of her very eyes. She has reported that her son told her that for days they had not given him water in the prison.
Vahide Yildiz, mother of the arrested Cem Yildiz, reported that her son is on the 146th day of his death fast. She asked, "Will they give us the corpses of our children?"
Yildiz, further remarked that the money and the goods that they bring to the prison are not being delivered to their children.
What are "F" Types?
"F type prisons" consist solitary confinement cells, where the prisoners are basically banned from having contact with each other. It is reportedly an ideal type of prison that has been in use in USA for years. The Republic of Turkey decided that the "F type" prisons would solve the problem of over crowdedness and the issue of the jails becoming educative and organizational bases for the illegal organizations. The authorities apparently did not take into consideration the vital differences between the social and material structures of USA and of Turkey as they made this decision. This decision and the architecture these new prisons received strong public criticism. The decision was followed with protests emerging from civil organizations and from the prisoners themselves. Mostly leftist prisoners, supported by a number of imprisoned PKK members, went on a hunger strike on 10.20.2000. This was followed by a death fast starting on 11.10.2000. Initially there were 816 prisoners and convicts in 18 prisons on the fast. The numbers increased everyday and the fast was supported by the relatives and others outside the prisons. One of the demands of the prisoners was the government to stop the preparation of the F type prisons. F type prison became an issue of social, psychological and legal debate with regard to its appropriateness to the Turkish society.
Meetings and negotiations were organized to solve the issue. Various writers, artists, workers' unions, nongovernmental organizations, government officials and at times the fasting prisoners themselves joined in these talks. A number of writers and artists visited Hikmet Sami Turk, the Minister of Justice, in Ankara, concerning the death fast and the F type prisons. As a result, Minister Turk made promises to the public through the media. He declared that the transition to the F type and the transfers of the inmates to these prisons would be reconsidered and the preparation of these prisons would be halted until they were regarded by the related civil and legal authorities to be appropriate and healthy.
In spite of the talks and the guarantees given by the Minister Turk, on 12.19.2000, an operation named "Compassion Operation" was carried out by the Ministry of Interior. During this operation, 15 prisoners burned themselves to death, 57 prisoners had first- degree burns on their bodies, and 2 gendarmes died in the fight. Following the operation, again in spite of the promises made, transfers of the arrested to the F type prisons started. Following the "Compassion Operation" and the start of the transfers to the F type prisons, Minister Turk issued a press release. He declared that the transfers were necessary due to the over crowdedness in the current prisons. A thorough report on the physical conditions of the F type prisons or of their inhabitants, have not yet been created. Even the lawyers of the arrested have had difficulties meeting their clients, let alone the families or the reporters. There still are prisoners who are on the death fast.
The families of the arrested, who are still on a death fast, are troubled. They have stated that the visiting hours have been reduced. The families have remarked that they are observing marks of strokes on the bodies of their children and that the goods they bring, are not been delivered to their children. (YV/YÖ/IG/EK)
