Despite his both arms were broken, Muzaffer Bayram, a former prosecutor in Kütahya province has been held in solitary confinement in prison according to Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Barış Yarkadaş.
Bayram was first dismissed from his position and then arrested on Nov. 23, 2016 as part of the Turkish government’s post-coup witch hunt targeting alleged followers of Gülen movement. Bayram also served as the general secretary of the top judicial body, the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), in the past.
“Rights abuses in prison have reached an unbearable level. I received two complaints today alone. One of them is from Keskin Prison in Ankara. Both arms of prosecutor Muzaffer Bayram were broken at the wrist. There is a medical report confirming this, too. However, Muzaffer Bayram is still being held alone in a cell. This is not acceptable. His wife complained to me as well. The only thing they want is a cellmate for him. Only in this way he will be able to meet his basic needs. Unfortunately, the family’s petitions have been ignored all along. The family was told that the prosecutor is being held in solitary confinement for his own safety,” Yarkadaş told media.
According to the statement of Turkey’s Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu on April 2, 2,575 judges and prosecutors have been imprisoned since failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.
In a letter, Christophe Regnard, the President of the International Association of Judges (IAJ), has stated that “24,4 percent of all judges (2538 out of 10382) and 24,3 percent of all prosecutors (1121 out of 4622) in Turkey were dismissed by Turkish government and the majority of them are in detention since July 15, 2016.
The military coup attempt on July 15, 2016 killed over 240 people. Immediately after the putsch, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government along with Turkey’s autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen movement despite the lack of any evidence to that effect. Gülen movement strongly denies having any role in the putsch.
In the currently ongoing post-coup purge, over 135,000 people, including thousands within the military, have been purged due to their real or alleged connections to the Gülen movement since a July 15 coup attempt in Turkey. Minister Soylu has also announced on April 2 that 47,155 people have been jailed while 113,260 people have been detained over alleged links with Gülen movement since coup attempt on July 15, 2016. (SCF with turkeypurge.com) April 9, 2017
