Pınar Aydınlar, a famous folk singer and party council member of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), was beaten by guards at İstanbul’s Bakırköy Prison for Women after refusing a strip search, according to a report by the Cumhuriyet daily.
Aydınlar was arrested on Tuesday due to a final judgment by the İzmir 2nd High Criminal Court, immediately upon her arrival at İstanbul Atatürk Airport from Germany.
The court’s original verdict, in which Aydınlar was convicted of “disseminating terrorist propaganda” in an election campaign speech in İzmir province in 2015, was two years and one month in prison, which was reduced to 10 months on appeal.
Following her arrest, she was brought to Bakırköy Prison for Women in İstanbul, where she will spend seven-and-a-half months. On her way to İstanbul from Germany early in the morning, Aydınlar tweeted a message to her followers, saying, “I don’t prefer Europe’s fancy streets to my country’s prisons. Time to come back! Hope to see you in free days! Jin Jiyan Azadi [women, life, freedom]!”
A lawyer of Aydınlar has filed a criminal complaint against personnel at an İstanbul prison, saying she was made to strip completely naked while entering jail after her sentencing.
“On the first day that my client entered the prison she was forced into a naked strip search, conducted against her will with force. The incident led to irreparable emotional damage,” lawyer Murat Arksak said in a complaint letter submitted to the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
“The naked strip search procedure does not comply with human dignity. It is an instance of torture and ill-treatment. The prison personnel who have executed this should be punished,” the petition added. (SCF with turkeypurge.com)
