Female prisoners in detention facilities on the Sincan Prison Campus in Ankara have submitted a formal complaint to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) to investigate human rights abuses. The complaint draws attention to the deaths occurring in Turkish prisons, including the case of Şakir Turan, who had remained imprisoned following a cancer diagnosis and later died in Erzincan L Type Prison on 30 August.
The prisoners state that at least 81 prisoners have died in the past year, with no investigations into these deaths. “These deaths are murders under government control. Most of the deceased are sick prisoners targeted for their political beliefs and especially for being Kurdish,” the prisoners added.
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The submission also notes that members of Ergenekon and Hizbullah have been serially pardoned, while those involved in theft, rape, and drug crimes have been released. “The latest penal enforcement law allows the release of many criminal prisoners while making conditions harsher for Kurds. This law has led to the postponement of release for 313 political prisoners,” the inmates said.
“There are tens of thousands of people subjected to fascist and racist practices in Turkish prisons. Systematic death and murders continue as a result of these practices,” they stated.
Urging the CPT to initiate an investigation into the Turkish prisons violating human rights and life, the prisoners asked that the resulting report be shared with the public, and Turkey should be warned and condemned. “Act urgently,” they concluded.