70 Prisons House “Sponged Rooms” in Turkey

Responding a parliamentarian inquiry of CHP deputy Sezgin Tanrıkulu, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ admitted that there are “sponged rooms” in 70 different prisons throughout Turkey.

The ministry also explained what a sponged room is.

 “These rooms called as sponged rooms are places where the ceiling, floor and walls are covered with sponge and preserved with canvas. The convict and prisoner here can be followed and controlled with a closed circuit camera system. The videos taken here are recorded. Clean and dirty water systems, and an air conditioning were set for the convict and prisoner to meet their human needs.”

 “…According to legislation provisions, the convict and prisoner can be transferred temporarily into these rooms for precaution and preventing them from damaging themselves and others, until they calm down.”

24 hours with handcuffs in the room

However, these rooms were on lots of news for being used as “torture rooms” in prisons by the guardians.

For instance, after the Peace and Democracy Party Law and Human Rights Commission negotiated with the prisoners battered in Bolu Type B Prison, the Commission stated on February 17: The guardians and special forces entered the prisoners’ cells and battered them. 4 of 10 prisoners were tied up with plastic handcuffs from hands and ankles. Then, they were shut down in a sponged room and kept there for 24 hours.

Overt toilets are watched

Upon the complaints of the prisoners Gökhan Çoban and Mustafa Özüsağlam in İzmir Kırıklar No.2 Type F, 8 guardians were sued on grounds of “torture.”

Last year on August 28, the prisoners were taken from their cells and beaten; then, thrown into sponged rooms on grounds that they were shouting slogans and banging the doors. They were pulled on floor, kicked and threatened. “We’ll talk you in your way,” said the head guard named D.A.G.

Ertuğrul Kürkçü, People’s Democratic Party (HDP) deputy of Mersin, stated in its parliamentary question about the issue that the videos of Çoban in the sponged room were in press:

“We see the room is surrounded with sponge from its ceiling to floor and there is no place to sit. We see a squat-toilet but it was not surrounded with anything.”

 “ The prisoners are being watched with a camera and they do not know where the camera is. The camera is looking at the uncovered toilet and records every moment of prisoners. It violates the privacy of private life,” stated Kürkçü.

“Slogan” as danger in prison

Other information in Bozdağ’s response is here:

*Sponged room practice has started in last years and has been generalized within 1 or 2 years.

* Before applying the sponged room practice, no expert advice was taken about its effects on the prisoners.

* At this stage, no action has been taken about closing the rooms, yet.

Bozdağ talked about prisoner Gökhan Çoban’s sponged room video, “ Çoban and his friends were posing danger for the prisoners in the establishment by shouting slogans and kicking doors.” (AS/MEV)

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.