ANKARA - Rights organizations prepared a report on torture in Afyon T Type Closed Prison. In the report, it was exposed that the prison director told guards: "Torture is free. Beat but do not leave a trace."
The Ankara branches of the Ankara Medical Chamber (ATO) Human Rights Commission, MED TUHAD-FED (Federation of the association of solidarity with families of prisoners), Human Rights Association (IHD) and Lawyers for Freedom Association (ÖHD) held a press conference regarding the rights violations report they prepared about the prisoners who were deported to Afyon No 1 T Type Closed Prison on 8 December 2019.
ÖHD member Hülya Yıldırım, IHD MYK members Nuray Çevirmen and Nilay Nayman, Rights Democratic Party (HDP) Legal Commission member Maviş Aydın and MED TUHAD-FED members Hava Özcan and Mehmet Boytekin attended the press conference held at IHD Headquarters.
IHD co-chair Öztürk Türkdoğan drew attention to the increasing allegations of torture in Turkey.
IHD member Nuray Çevirmen said that they visited Afyon No.1 T Type Closed Prison on 20 February 2020 following complaints from some prisoners' relatives. "After meeting with prisoners, we came to the conclusion that fundamental rights and freedoms were violated as well as the ban on torture."
Çevirmen said that they met with 15 prisoners and collected the long list of violations going from ill prisoners not treated to things sent to prisoners by the families being seized, to psychological and physical torture.
The report also exposed an episode which happened when prisoners brought to Afyon No.1 T Type Closed Prison were taken to the waiting room one by one from the entrance door. Robocop-type guards wanted to strip search the prisoners who refused. Then the prison director told guards: "Torture is now free. Beat but don't leave traces."