“Even Hepatitis B Patient Inmate Is Unable to Retrieve Test Results”

MAZLUMDER Prison Commission released a report on the conditions of Batman M Type Prison. 

Written by advocate Kaya Kartal from MAZLUMDER Prison Commission, the report was based on a series of interviews held by commission members Eyyup Akıncı ve advocate Idris Yapıcıoğlu on August 13. 

MAZLUMDER interview Abdusselam Durmaz, Ahmet Şat, Mahmut Uyan, Mehmet Ali Şeker (who received life sentence in Islami Hareket case and served 20 years of prison) and Hüseyin Güney, Ahmet Parça (who received life sentence in Hezbollah case). 

Interviews focused on a variety of factors including the general condition of prisons, extend of isolation, situation of inmates, issues that inmates are facing and prison guards’ attitudes towards inmates. 

The following observations have been made at the end of interviews: 

* Prison administration is exercising arbitrary measures on inmates. In the same way, prison guards are treating inmates in an arbitrary fashion. 

* Those who serve in various course are treating inmates like prison guards as they don’t go through a professional formation. 

* Inmates usually don’t get a response on their official requests. 

* Prison administration is transferring inmates who live in Batman city area to the western part of the country. Inmates are shying away from demanding their rights due to fear of transfer.   

* Infirmary staff is arranging hospital transfers in an arbitrary fashion. Even Hepatitis B patient inmates are unable to demand blood tests. They are unable to retrieve their blood test results for several months. 

* Inmates suffer from extreme hot weather at nights, they are deprived from open air permits and they have very restricted access to open spaces. 

* Political inmates are subjected to practices violating the equality principle of treatment.  

* Political inmates are deprived from various rights including education, open prison, judiciary control and approximate locations. Prison administration is practicing regulations favoring inmates on an arbitrary basis. 

More than 400 sick inmates awaiting release  

According to the latest report by Human Rights Association (IHD) Diyarbakır Branch, there are at least 413 sick inmates in Turkey’s prisons house with 122 in urgent need for discharge. 

Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) released a statement this week, saying that at least 405 sick inmates are being kept in prisons across Turkey despite the graveness of their condition. (AS/BM) 

* Click here to read the original article in Turkish.