Rights violations in Urfa Prison: No releases, investigations and pressure

2024-08-31 10:11:28


	RIHA - ÖHD Riha Branch Prisons Coordinator Sabri Güngen talked about the rights violations in Urfa Type T Prison, where ill prisoners are not released despite the “cannot stay in prison” report, and noted that the basis of all violations is the İmralı isolation.

	In Urfa Type T Prison, where rights violations are frequent, ill prisoners are prevented from receiving treatment, while transfers against the prisoner's will and pressures continue. 

	 

	Sabri Güngen, member of Lawyers' Association for Freedom (ÖHD) Riha (Urfa) Branch Prison Coordination, stated that prisoners in Urfa Prison are subjected to rights violations almost every day. Güngen stated that there have been a lot of exile in Type T Closed Prison recently and added that 38 people were exiled in T-1 prison and 15 people in T-2 prison. Güngen added that most of those exiled were sent to Erzincan Type S Closed Prison and said: “Again, one of the situations we have recently encountered frequently in T-2 prison is execution burning. The execution of 6 people in T-2 prison was either postponed or burned.” 

	 

	NO PRISONERS RELEASED ON PAROLE

	 

	Güngen stated that although political prisoners in Urfa Type T Closed Prison have had the right to parole since the beginning of 2024, it has not been used for political prisoners and that prisoners continue to be held inside. 

	 

	INVESTIGATION INTO HALAY WITH KURDISH SONG 

	 

	On the other hand, Güngen said that books published by Aram Publishing were confiscated without justification during raids on wards in the past months, and that 3 prisoners were investigated on the grounds that they took halay on August 15, and added: “All books approved by the Ministry of Culture can be read in prisons and can be brought into the prison. Although there is no obstacle for the publishing house neither in the prison regulations nor in the execution law, the seizure of the books published by Aram Publishing is completely arbitrary. At the same time, we learned that an investigation was launched against 3 prisoners who took a halay to Kurdish songs on August 15th on the grounds of 'propaganda'. These are also violations of rights. It is an act of Kurdish hostility to criminalize the fact that the prisoners went beyond history and took the halay, which belongs to Kurdish culture.” 

	 

	SITUATION OF ILL PRISONERS 

	 

	Güngen also drew attention to the situation of ill prisoners, noting that there are 22 ill prisoners in Type T prisons and among them there are prisoners who need urgent medical intervention. Stating that even the treatment processes of the ill prisoners with serious conditions have not been started, Güngör said the following: “Şehriban Mimkara's situation had been on the agenda before. Mimkara urgently needs surgical intervention in a hospital outside the prison where conditions are more suitable. However, she has been treated with medication in prison for 3-4 years. And we know that these medications are not given regularly. We have suspicions that the Forensic Medicine Institute is also biased here. As a matter of fact, almost all of the ill prisoners we interviewed in prisons are ill prisoners who have difficulty speaking and cannot be treated in prison. As far as we have seen, while the 'cannot stay in prison' report should be given to prisoners who may face life-threatening danger if they remain in prison, Forensic Medicine does not give this report to almost any political prisoner. We believe that this is done deliberately.”

	 

	Noting that a prisoner in Siverek Prison, who is in his 60s and has many diseases, especially heart disease, continues to be held in prison despite the “cannot stay in prison” report, Güngen said, “The prisoner, who has been held in prison for 2 years despite the report, has undergone many surgeries. In fact, he was sent back to prison in handcuffs even before his wounds were closed after his recent heart surgery.” 

	 

	'ISOLATION SPREADS FROM I·MRALI TO ALL PRISONS' 

	 

	Güngen pointed out that the basis of all the problems is the severe isolation conditions imposed on PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan and other prisoners Ömer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş in İmralı Type F High Security Prison and the unlawfulness that created these conditions. Drawing attention to the Type S prisons built in the last period, Güngen stated that political prisoners are hled under severe isolation conditions in these prisons and said: “It should be underlined that the prisoners exiled from Urfa prisons were especially taken to Erzincan Type S Closed Prison. There are many reasons why prisoners were taken to the new Type S prison built here. All of the prisoners exiled to these prisons have their families here. In this way, prisoners are separated from their families and sent to a place that is hard to reach, secluded and difficult to travel to. Their only contact with the outside world is their families. Exiling prisoners to these places is an attempt to end their only contact with the outside world and to isolate them. This inhumane isolation of political prisoners should be considered as a part of the isolation of Mr. Öcalan in İmralı for years. As a matter of fact, it is a fact that the inhumane violations of rights in prison, which is a part of the Kurdish issue, can only end with the lifting of the isolation on Mr. Öcalan, and that a discussion can be held about ending this issue fundamentally.”

	 

	MA / Ceylan Şahinli