Turkey’s Constitutional Court has ruled that solitary confinement penalties imposed on 23 female inmates over publications and handwritten notes seized during prison searches violated their freedom of expression, the Mezopotamya news agency reported.
The court found that authorities had failed to justify the disciplinary measures or show that they met a pressing social need, concluding that the interference was not necessary in a democratic society.
The case stemmed from searches at Bakırköy Women’s Prison in İstanbul on January 26, 2024, when prison authorities seized publications and handwritten notes they said praised members of an unspecified terrorist organization.
Prison authorities then launched disciplinary proceedings against 26 inmates and on March 21, 2024 imposed solitary confinement for allegedly engaging in “educational and propaganda activities.”
The inmates challenged the penalties before the Bakırköy 4th Enforcement Judge, which rejected their complaints, finding the disciplinary measures procedurally and legally compliant. The Bakırköy 1st High Criminal Court subsequently rejected their appeals on similar grounds.
Twenty-three inmates then filed individual applications with the Constitutional Court, arguing that the disciplinary measures amounted to collective punishment and violated their rights to freedom of expression and a fair trial.
The Constitutional Court said the prison authorities and lower courts had failed to explain how the seized material constituted propaganda or threatened prison security. It also noted that some documents found in common areas had not been linked to individual inmates.
The court ordered a retrial to remedy the violations and sent its ruling to the Bakırköy 4th Enforcement Judge. It also awarded non-pecuniary damages to each applicant.
The Constitutional Court has also found freedom of expression violations in other prisoner disciplinary cases, including an 11-day solitary confinement penalty for making a victory sign in 2024 and a prison ban on giving a visitor a bracelet in traditional Kurdish colors in August.
The Human Rights Association (İHD) documented at least 24,207 rights violations in Turkish prisons in 2025, including restrictions on healthcare and social activities, torture and ill-treatment and limits on access to publications.
