"I am carrying the picture of my daughter in my heart and I will carry it in my heart in the future. Nobody can take that away from me".
This is what Hatice Harman said whose daughter died as the result of a hunger strike in 2002. Harman is now on trial because she carried a photograph of her daughter in a demonstration on the International Women's Day on 8 March.
57-year old Harman talked to bianet about her prosecution. "I was not surprised when I learned that a court case had been opened against me", she said. Harman is facing imprisonment of between one and five years on charges of "making propaganda for an illegal organization" according to Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law.
"It was determined that suspect Harman carried a photograph of her daughter Feride Harman throughout the demonstration and during the press release. Feride Harman was a member of the Party and Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of the Turkish People (DHKP-C). Her sentence was postponed for six months due to a hunger strike she started at the Malatya E Type Closed Prison. She was taken to the Ankara Numune Hospital and died on 16 December 2002 because she refused any treatment", the indictment claims.
Feride Harman joined the hunger strike as a sign of protest against the transfer to F type prisons.
The indictment is based on police records that include pictures of Hatice Harman carrying the photograph of her daughter. Harman will appear before the Malatya 3rd High Criminal Court for the third hearing on Tuesday morning (22 November).
"Hospital was like being in a prison cell too"
Harman constantly accompanied her daughter in hospital after her condition had worsened and she was transferred from prison to hospital. "It was like a prison cell there too", Harman said. She described her daughter's transfer from the hospital in Ankara to the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institution:
"They even told me off when I asked for water for my daughter during the transport. We were sent back from Istanbul to Ankafa after less than a day. Also the return journey was very onerous. I was very sorry that they treated her like that".
When Feride Harman's condition worsened further, she was released from prison. Again, her mother was with her all the time. Harman recalled, "I cried for a whole week. I could not stand seeing her like that".
Feride Harman died on 16 December 2002 and was laid to rest in Malatya (south-eastern Turkey). "I am carrying her photographs in my bag and take them everywhere I go. There are also photographs on the walls at home. Above all, I carry her in my heart. Even if they forbid, I will continue to carry her in my heart. She is my daughter. Do they want me to ignore my own daughter?" Hatice Harman deplored.
When bianet asked her if she was surprised about the opening of the trial Harman started laughing. "No, I was not surprised. We are living in such a country where anything can happen to us", she replied. (AS)