Kurdish inmates on hunger strikes in 11 prisons across Turkey are faced with neglect and arbitrary restrictions by prison administrations, the Artı Gerçek news website reported, citing a report jointly released by the Van Bar Association and several human rights NGOs.
According to the report, prisoners are denied adequate nutrition, necessary vitamin supplements and appropriate checks on their health.
They are also excluded from cultural and sports activities and prevented from communication with the outside world, the report said.
Several prisoners incarcerated across the country have been on a hunger strike to express demands for the peaceful resolution of the Kurdish issue, which refers to the demand for equal rights by the country’s Kurdish population and their struggle for recognition. as well as the removal of what they call the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The PKK is an armed separatist organization waging war against the Turkish state since the 1980s and is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and much of the international community.
Its leader, Öcalan, is serving an aggravated life sentence on the prison island of İmralı and has for years been held in incommunicado detention, according to his lawyers and pro-Kurdish NGOs.
Over the last decade Turkey has seen significant increases in its per capita prison population. The country now leads Europe by far in terms of prison population and is ranked high in prison overcapacity percentages, according to reports issued by the Council of Europe.
In addition to overcrowding, prison administrations have been accused of arbitrary practices, such as abusive disciplinary sanctions and restrictions on access to amenities, particularly in the cases of political prisoners.
