Female detainees have been subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment in jail in Turkey’s Elazığ province, according to social media posts by lawyer Hüseyin Aygün.
Turkey’s main opposition Republican People Party’s (CHP) former deputy and lawyer Aygün draws attention to the situation of political prisoners who are forced to wear “terror” identity cards in Elazığ T-Type Prison, which frequently comes to the scene with violations of rights and torture.
In a report published by Artı Gercek news portal, lawyer Aygün, who made a statement on Tuesday evening on his Twitter account and said that he visited political female detainees in the Elazığ T-Type Penal Execution Facility, and have been informed of the demands of the women prisoners who have stayed for two consecutive months. Aygün has also said that he will expose details of the treatment that the group has been exposed.
“In the beatings and ill-treatment, there is İlke Başak Baydar who was wounded during the Suruç massacre of ISIL (the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant),” said Aygün. In a reference to those who cannot get the “terrorist” ID cards, Aygün said that they cannot go out of the ward and not able to benefit from telephone, infirmary, cargo and visiting day. Aygün added that they are imposed to have standing census every day.
The torture, ill-treatment, abusive, inhuman and degrading treatment of people who are deprived of their liberties in Turkey’s detention centers and prisons have become a norm rather than an exception under increased nationalistic euphoria and religious zealotry in the country in wake of a controversial coup attempt on July 15, 2016.
Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF) has reported one of its studies titled “Suspicious Deaths and Suicides In Turkey” that there has been an increase in the number of suspicious deaths in Turkey, most in Turkish jails and detention centers where a torture and ill-treatment is being practiced. In most cases, authorities concluded these as suicides without any effective, independent investigation.
The suspicious death has also taken place beyond the prison walls amid psychological pressure and threats of imminent imprisonment and torture, sometimes following the release of suspects or just before the detention. SCF has compiled 93 cases of suspicious death and suicides in Turkey in a list as of November 2, 2017 in a searchable database format.
Turkey survived a controversial military coup attempt on July 15, 2016 that killed 249 people. Immediately after the putsch the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government along with President Erdoğan pinned the blame on the movement.
