Female inmates in Edirne L-Type prison have complained about unbearable prison conditions, the Tr724 news website reported.
Inmates recently told their families that sewage water had overflowed into their cells, putting their health at risk and causing four children and two pregnant women to be transferred to other cells. But inmates believe their health is still at risk since the general cleanliness of the prison is questionable.
Furthermore, the inmates complained that they did not receive deliveries from their families in a timely manner, often taking a month for clothes and books to arrive. The prison administration did not respond to letters from inmates who wanted to be transferred to other prisons.
The problems in Edirne prison reflect problems with most prisons in Turkey, where the number of children accompanying their mothers is worryingly high.
According to a report released by main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker Sezgin Tanrıkulu in January, a total of 520 children under the age of six are accompanying their mothers in Turkish prisons, a number that had skyrocketed in the aftermath of a coup attempt in July 2016.
Previous reports have also underlined that Turkish prisons do not accommodate the needs of children and infants. Most prisons do not provide crayons, toys or carpets for crawling babies. Many children do not have their own beds and share their mothers’ food.
Activists and opposition politicians have put the issues of lack of hygiene, overcrowding, lack of food and severe mistreatment on the agenda. However, the Turkish government has not responded to these problems or offered solutions.
