Reports of poor prison conditions have raised concerns about human rights violations in prisons in eastern Turkey’s Van province, the Bianet English news website reported.
According to the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD), prisoners do not have access to proper medical care. Critically ill inmates, including those with chronic heart conditions, are often denied treatment or face long delays before being transferred to infirmaries or hospitals.
Some prisoners wait up to three weeks for infirmary visits and as long as four months for hospital transfers, exacerbating their health issues.
Muzaffer Şinas, the father of a prisoner, voiced his concerns about his son Nihat’s treatment in Van’s prisons. According to Şinas, his son, who requires surgery for a nerve injury, has not received adequate medical attention.
Turkish authorities have frequently been criticized for their systematic disregard of the health problems of prisoners.
Every year rights groups report the death of dozens of sick prisoners, either while behind bars or shortly after their belated release, which often comes at the end-stage of their illnesses.
According to the Human Rights Association (İHD), there were 1,517 sick inmates in Turkish detention facilities as of December 2022, 651 of whom were critically ill.
From 2018 to 2023 the Justice Ministry recorded 2,258 inmate deaths, with the Human Rights Association (İHD) documenting 42 deaths in 2023 alone. These included 23 inmates who died from untreated medical conditions and 10 under suspicious circumstances, sparking a public outcry over negligence.
Reports also highlight the mistreatment of inmates during cell searches, where personal belongings are damaged and books are confiscated. Prisoners are also frequently denied access to radios, televisions and newspapers without clear justification.
According to the annual report of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV), instances of physical abuse, arbitrary disciplinary actions and degrading treatment in Turkish prisons, long notorious for the torture and ill-treatment of inmates, have seen a significant rise, particularly since a failed coup in 2016 and a subsequent state of emergency. The report details numerous cases of physical and psychological abuse, exacerbated by overcrowding.
In addition to prison mistreatment, there have also been reports of arbitrary delays in prisoners’ releases on parole. One inmate, Y.A., was scheduled for release on October 14, 2023, but his release was postponed for an unspecified period of time due to alleged misconduct. Similar delays for other prisoners have raised concerns over the arbitrary extension of sentences by prison authorities without proper judicial review.
Administrative observation boards, review bodies established in Turkish prisons in January 2021, have been delaying the parole of prisoners by three to six months, leading to concerns over multiple rights violations.
Between 2021 and 2023 the release of a total of 384 prisoners eligible for parole was postponed, according to data from the İHD.
