3 y.o. Child Plays With TOMA in Prison

“It is forbidden to give a bike to a 3 year old child. Are they afraid that he is going to run away?” wrote Zeynep Bakır, an inmate from Bakırköy Women’s Prison on the situation of her son. 

Zeynep Bakır has been jailed for a year for “illegal organization propaganda” and her son P.A. has been diagnosed with atypical autism 10 months ago. 

On the other hand, Bakır’s lawyers request for her release within judiciary control measures has been rejected. 

No toys allowed from outside prison 

* Drawing credit: Zeynep Bakır

Some of the highlights from Bakır’s letter to bianet are as follows:

“P.A. was diagnosed with ‘atypical autism’ but it was detected early. So a treatment was possible. 

“We could only start P.A.’s education three months after he was transferred here. The daycare only started six months later. but it is only a couple of hours. We have no idea what he is doing around these hours. Once they have sent him to 1453 Panorama-İstanbul’s Conquest Museum! I only send him to daycare because of doctors’ advise. They hand out toys there from time to time. They gave him a TOMA!”

“They also say that we can’t get any toys from outside as ‘they already give out toys in the daycare’. We still can’t get toys that help my son to speak. There is a radio inside, there is television and they sell batteries in the shop. What ban is that?

“Along with P.A., I go to the education session 3 times per week only for 45 minutes. But what a journey! All soldiers in the transport vehicle! I have my son on my lap, they have their weapons.”

More than 13,000 signatures 

A petition has been launched departing from Zeynep Bakır and P.A.’s situation regarding the situation of women inmates’ children with autism or disabilities. 

The campaign urges authorities to release the aforementioned inmates within judiciary control measures. 

As of today until the release of this article, more than 13,000 signatures were collected. (AS/BM)

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.