Mahir Uslu, member of the Human Rights Association (İHD) Ankara Branch Prisons Commission, stated that they visited many prisons due to the systematic violations of rights. Making evaluations about the increasing pressure in prisons, the situation of sick prisoners and arbitrary practices, Uslu stated that there are serious violations of rights in prisons and called on political parties to solve the problems. Stating that they received many complaints from ill prisoners and that he visited prisons in line with the complaints, Uslu stated that he visited the Sincan High Security Closed Prison most recently.

 

ONE-PERSON CELLS

 

Uslu stated that the most striking problem was the new prison concept consisting of single- person cells under the name of "high security". Underlining that prisoners are subjected to psychological pressure, Uslu told that the prisoners are isolated with these cells. Uslu said, “There are single-person cells in these new prisons. They are building the new prisons like the American prisons. Prisoners have to communicate with guards with a button and they only see people when they are served meal once a day and a short period of yard time. The prisoners say that if they knew there were other cells next to them, even that would make them feel better and stronger and they can support each other. The most natural human rights are being taken away from them. This is a very systematic prison concept to isolate the prisoners. I think they built new prisons in this concept from now on."

 

FROM AFRIN TO PRISONS AS GUARDS

 

Stating that he asked a prison director about the beating of a prisoner and the prison director said, "They are passionate and excited young men. We tell them not to do it but they keep doing it", Uslu said: "Later we learned that these 'passionate and excited' guards worked as expert sergeants in Afrin and then appointed as guards to the prisons. They are individuals that needs to be rehabilitated."

 

DIRECTORS ALSO NEED REHABILITATION

 

Emphasizing the fact that AKP is not able to solve any kinds of problems in prisons, Uslu told the following: "These prison directors and guards are spesifically picked to those posts. They have to be rehabilitated. We saw that prisoners who are sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment are held in cells during our visit to the prisons with the Association of Lawyers for Freedom. When we asked the prison director, he said: "Should we left those cells empty and unused? Am I Papa Smurf?" He is now working as a prison director in Afyon Prison."

 

ENEMY LAW

 

Underlining that there is no general law and that every single director is applying a prison system they came up with, Uslu said: "The prisoners can get one book a month in a prison and there is a whole library in another prison run by a director that likes to read. A prison has flower pots all around and another does not allow any plants. Everyone created a system to their own choosing. But there is a common attitude and that is the enemy law applied on the prisoners. The prison personnel is picked spesifically for this."

 

CALL TO POLITICAL PARTIES

 

Stating that the political parties in the parliament should put more effort into the situation of the prisons, Uslu said: "The people in prisons do not have the chance to be heard. Political parties visiting prisons is very important in that regard. At least the ones who are candidates to be the government one day. We demand special attention to the prisons from these parties."