A call for solidarity against rights violations in prison

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  • 11:30 12 April 2023
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ŞIRNAK - Serhat Kayan, who was released from Kayseri No. 2 High Security Closed Prison, stated that there is a serious torture system in prisons and called on everyone to show solidarity with the prisoners.
 
Pressure, threats and torture practices against political prisoners in prisons continue to increase day by day. Serhat Kayan, who was arrested and put in Şırnak Type T Closed Prison after being detained in 2020, was released last month.
 
Kayan, who said that he was arrested and exiled to Kayseri No. 2 High Security Closed Prison in 2021 with many other detainees for opposing the imposition of the National Anthem in Şırnak Type T Closed Prison, talked about the violations of rights in the prison.
 
Stating that they were beaten when they were taken into custody, Kayan said: “When we were taken to the prison, the guards imposed a nude search. I was beaten for refusing. After being taken to the wards, our phone calls and family visits were also banned. The torture continues in prison. We need to protect the prisoners and show solidarity with them. We need to be constantly on the watch for justice for the detainees."
 
Saying that the guards in Şırnak Prison put pressure on the prisoners to sing the National Anthem, Kayan said: "The guards were raiding the dormitories with threats, 'You will see the power of the Turk, Assad Oktay, who is the torturer guard in Diyarbakır prison in 80s military coup, salutes'. When they exiled us to Kayseri, they were told 'don't even give them a glass of water'. We also had friends who were ill or old. We will never forget the persecution of us."
 
CALL FOR SOLIDARITY
 
Expressing that he was imprisoned for two years, Kayan said: "I am calling out to the Kurdish people; go to the prison gates and show solidarity with your children and brothers because we were against all impositions, we were constantly subjected to pressure. They confiscated our books, notebooks, and articles we wrote and we need the solidarity of the public.