Human Rights Foundation of Turkey Documentation Center[1][2][3][4][5]
29 August 2024 Daily Human Rights Report
(08/217) Racist Attack Against a Child in Istanbul…
It is learned from the news coverage of August 28, 2024, that during a subway train journey in Istanbul on August 22, 2024, 2 men first inflicted verbal violence on a child, who is reported to be a Syrian citizen and who was selling hair bands in the subway, and then one of them inflicted physical violence on the child. It is also reported in the news that one of the attackers said ‘Are you a Syrian too, who are you, show your ID card, are you Turkish or not?’ to a passenger who was trying to prevent the attackers.
Ministry of Justice announced on August 28, 2024, that an investigation was initiated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office against the person who inflicted physical violence on the child.
(08/218) Torture and Other Ill-Treatment in Prison…
On August 27, 2024, Human Rights Association (IHD) Diyarbakır Branch Prison Commission released a report stating that some prisoners in Erzincan High Security Prison were kept in solitary rooms in violation of the legislation and were allowed to ventilate for only 1 hour a day, chat and common area activities, which should be 10 hours a week, were only 2 hours a week, strip search was imposed in prison entrance procedures and prisoners who refused were subjected to insults of prison officials and/or kept in observation room for several days, books sent from outside and containing the words ‘Kurdish, Kurdish, Kurdistan, Democracy’ were not given to prisoners by the prison administration, the prison administration limited the television channels that prisoners could watch and the newspapers that prisoners could read, disciplinary investigations were initiated by the prison administration against prisoners and some prisoners were given disciplinary penalties because of the protest of not going to family and telephone visits initiated in prisons across Turkey with the demand for an end to the isolation of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and a democratic solution to the Kurdish question, prisoners leaving the single room are searched with detectors and forced to take off their shoes, correspondence between prisoners is done by postal mail and prisoners are charged a fee, prisoners are charged for electricity usage, the variety of products in the canteen is insufficient and prices are high.
From the same report, it is stated that the food served in Erzincan L Type Prison is inadequate, the number of books that prisoners can buy at once is limited to 5 by the prison administration, private areas such as beds and toilets in the rooms are in the field of view of prison cameras, and standing roll-calls are imposed during ward searches, prisoners are prevented from using common areas, chat rights and social and cultural activities, prisoners are prevented from sitting side by side with their relatives who come to visit them in open visits and disciplinary proceedings are initiated against prisoners who do so, and prisoners’ letters about rights violations in prison are not sent.
It is stated in the same report that in Erzincan T Type Prison, prisoners’ requests for transfer to other prisons were rejected without any justification, the fees paid by prisoners for phone calls were increased significantly, prisoners were forced to wear slippers during hospital transfers on the grounds of “security”, pages of newspapers given to prisoners by the prison administration containing news about prisons were torn and handed over, prisoners who participated in the hunger strike in prisons across Turkey demanding an end to the isolation of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and a democratic solution to the Kurdish issue, were subjected to disciplinary proceedings by the prison administration and were penalized with deprivation of phone calls.
It is learned from the same report that in Erzincan Women’s Prison, room doors in wards are locked at 22.00, there is no television in the common area of wards, and prisoners are prevented from using wristwatches.
From the same report, in Giresun Espiye L Type Prison, the food given to prisoners is of poor quality and inadequate, and the prison administration does not allow any social and cultural activities except for 45 minutes of sports activity once a week, prisoners are not given books in Kurdish, only Sözcü and Cumhuriyet newspapers are allowed to be taken, only NTV and TRT Haber channels can be watched on television, prisoners’ requests for transfer to prisons in regions close to their families are rejected by the prison administration, open family visits can only be held once a month for 45 minutes, prisoners’ notebooks and personal belongings such as books and balls are confiscated during ward searches, the prices of the products sold in the canteen are high, the tap water used by prisoners in the prison is so dirty that it is undrinkable and prevents them from meeting their hygiene needs, prisoners who leave their rooms for family and lawyer visits and sports activities are forced to take off their shoes and be searched, some prisoners were kept in single rooms in violation of the legislation, strip searches were imposed on prisoners during the entrance procedures to the prison and prisoners who rejected this practice were kept in the observation room, political and judicial prisoners were kept in the same block, the petitions of complaints written by prisoners were not forwarded to the relevant institutions, the money deposited to prisoners by their families is given 1 day a week, the interest income accumulated from the money in the escrow account is not spent for the benefit of prisoners, the variety of books in the library is insufficient, prisoners suffer from lack of air in their rooms, and some correction officers use degrading treatment.
From the same report, it is stated that in Rize Kalkandere L Type Prison, disciplinary proceedings were initiated by the prison administration against prisoners who participated in the hunger strike and boycott protests in prisons across Turkey demanding an end to the isolation of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and a democratic solution to the Kurdish problem, and that prisoners were given disciplinary penalties, and that the food given to prisoners was of poor quality and inadequate, The variety of products sold in the canteen is insufficient and the prices are high, personal belongings of prisoners are seized during ward searches, prisoners are only given BirGün newspaper by the prison administration and the requests of prisoners requesting other newspapers are rejected, prisoners are not allowed to benefit from sports, social and cultural activities in accordance with the legislation and joint social activities are not carried out, relatives of prisoners who came to open visits were subjected to degrading treatment by the correctional officers, the calls were suddenly interrupted during the phone calls which are used for 10 minutes a week, the prisoners’ petitions for complaints were answered late or not answered at all, the bills for the electricity used in the rooms were paid by the prisoners, It is learned that prisoners were subjected to strip searches during prison entrance procedures, prisoners can only get books from the library once every fifteen days and the number of books they can get is limited to 3, Kurdish books are not delivered to prisoners or delayed, and prisoners are not given radios on the grounds of ‘security’.
According to the same report, in Trabzon Beşikdüzü T Type Prison, disciplinary investigations were initiated and disciplinary penalties were given by the prison administration against prisoners who participated in the hunger strike and boycott protests launched in prisons across Turkey demanding an end to the isolation of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and a democratic solution to the Kurdish problem, the variety of products sold in the canteen was insufficient and prices were high, the food given to prisoners was of poor quality and insufficient, personal belongings of prisoners were seized during ward searches, prisoners cannot benefit from common social and cultural activities except 1 hour of sports activity once a week, and no courses are opened, prison administration prevents prisoners from being given radios, prison administration only gives BirGün newspaper to prisoners, balls are not given to prisoners on the grounds that they would damage sensors, prisoners’ requests for transfer to prisons close to their families are rejected, letters written in Kurdish by prisoners are not sent on the grounds that there is no translator in prison.
From the same report, it is stated that female prisoners in Bayburt M Type Prison were not provided with hygienic pads, tampons, etc. The prison administration did not respond to prisoners’ requests for transfer to prisons close to their families, the open visit time was limited to 40 – 45 minutes by the prison administration, there was a chronic water shortage in the prison, personal belongings of prisoners were seized during ward searches, only Cumhuriyet newspaper was allowed, letters sent to prisoners are delivered late on the grounds of lack of personnel, the variety of products sold in the canteen is insufficient and the prices are high, the food given to prisoners is of poor quality and insufficient, products bought from the canteen are seized during ward searches on the grounds that they are ‘objectionable’, there are no courses for prisoners and prisoners cannot benefit from any social and cultural activities.
It is learned from the news coverage of 28 August 2024 that detainees in Tekirdağ Çorlu Type Y Prison are kept in single rooms and ill prisoner Cuma Topaloğlu is kept in a single room although he cannot meet his vital needs on his own.
(08/219) Prevention of Right to Health in Prison…
On 27 August 2024, Human Rights Association (IHD) Diyarbakır Branch Prison Committee released a report and stated that ill prisoners in Erzincan High Security Prison were examined in handcuffs.
It is learned from the same report that prisoners in Giresun Espiye L Type Prison were subjected to mouth searches and double handcuffing during hospital transfers, some prisoners did not demand hospital transfers for 3 years, hospital transfers of ill prisoners were delayed and food demands of prisoners with different diets were not met.
It is learned from the same report that prisoners in Rize Kalkandere L Type Prison were transferred late to the hospital and were forced to wear double handcuffs during transfer procedures.
It is learned from the same report that prisoners in Trabzon Beşikdüzü T Type Prison were forced to wear double handcuffs during hospital transfers, prisoners were examined in handcuffs, and hospital transfers for dental treatment were delayed.
It is learned from the same report that there were delays in the transfers to the hospital in Bayburt M Type Prison and prisoners who were referred to the hospital were examined in handcuffs.
It is learned from the news coverage of 29 August 2024 that, Mehmet Emin Çam (72, m), a seriously ill prisoner in Batman Beşiri T Type Prison, was not supplied with medication for his health problems. Şimel Çam, daughter of Mehmet Emin Çam, stated the following to the press: “My father was in a very bad condition when I went to see him. He stated that he was not given the medication he needed to use. My father recently had a heart attack and underwent angioplasty. There are medications he is constantly taking due to his heart disease and brain tumor. These vital medicines are not given to my father. Every time he goes to the infirmary, he is told that they are not available and sent to the ward without being given them. Since he cannot use his medication, there is a risk of losing his life every hour. Every minute is working against my father. We want my father to be given his medication immediately”.
(08/220) Discriminatory Practices in Prison…
It is learned from the report of Human Rights Association (IHD) Diyarbakır Branch Prisons Committee on 27 August 2024 that, in Erzincan T Type Prison, the fee for 10 minutes phone call was increased from 10 Turkish Liras to 330 Turkish Liras for prisoners who are not Turkish citizens.
It is learned from the same report that in Rize Kalkandere L Type Prison, the prison administration did not allow some prisoners who are not Turkish citizens to see anyone.
(08/221) Meeting Request with Abdullah Öcalan not Responded to…
It is learned that the appeal made on August 29, 2024, to the chief public prosecutor’s office in Bursa by lawyers in order to visit their clients PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, Ömer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş in İmralı Prison was not responded.
(08/222) Lawyer from Syria Targeted on Social Media…
It is learned from the news coverage of 22 August 2024 that Hanan Mouselli Dagır, a lawyer of Syrian origin who got a lawyer’s license and started to practice as a member of the Izmir Bar Association, was targeted with racist, discriminatory and hateful expressions on social media.
(08/223) Police Intervention Against a Protest in Antep…
On August 28, 2024, in Antep, the police intervened against the press statement of Akcanlar Textile workers and United Textile, Weaving and Leather Workers’ Union (BİRTEK-SEN) in front of a hotel in Antep, to protest poor working conditions and tax cuts, and detained 33 people including BİRTEK-SEN chair Mehmet Türkmen and BİRTEK-SEN organizing expert Mazlum Ayçiçek, by using torture and ill-treatment. It is learned that 1 worker was injured during the intervention. Detained people were released the same day after statement procedures at the police station.
(08/224) People Detained in Şırnak…
2 persons (İ. D. and Y. D.) who were detained in house raids in the İdil district of Şırnak on 25 August 2024, were released after statement procedures at the police station on 28 August 2024.
(08/225) Former Party Chair on Trial…
It is learned from the news coverage of 29 August 2024 that Ankara Heavy Penal Court No 35 accepted the indictment against Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, former chair of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), on the grounds of various speeches he made between 2014 and 2019, demanding a jail sentence from 2.5 years to 3.5 years and political ban as per Turkish Penal Code (TCK) 53. The indictment demands a sentence for Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on the charge of ‘praising the offense and offender in a chain’. The first hearing of the case will be held on 3 December 2024.
(08/226) A Child on Trial in Istanbul…
It is learned from the news coverage of August 29, 2024, that the indictment against 1 child (16, f) who was detained on May 12, 2024, in the Sarıyer district of Istanbul on the grounds of swearing at President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s motorcade passing by, and who was released on judicial control conditions, was accepted by the court. The indictment demands a sentence for the child on the charge of ‘insulting the President’.
(08/227) Television Channels that were given Administrative Fines and Programme Suspension Penalties by RTÜK…
According to the news coverage of 28 August 2024, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) issued TELE1 TV with an administrative fine on the grounds that Merdan Yanardağ’s use of the expression ‘Islamofascist’ about the government in the program ‘4 Questions 4 Answers’ exceeded the limits of criticism. It is learned that Cemil Kılıç’s statements ‘Angels exist but they are not ontological beings’ and ‘Prayer can be performed in Turkish’ in the program ‘Enlightenment with Cemil Kılıç’ were sentenced to an administrative fine and program suspension 3 times on the grounds of being against the national and moral values of the society, general morality and the principle of protection of the family.
(08/228) Electricity Cut in a Neighborhood in Diyarbakır…
It is learned from the news coverage of August 28, 2024, that the electricity of Kazancı neighbourhood in the Bismil district of Diyarbakır was cut off by Dicle Elektrik Dağıtım A.Ş. (DEDAŞ) at 01.00 on August 29, 2024, on the grounds that electricity meters were not connected to the poles on the street.
A neighborhood resident stated the following to the press: “There are many chronic patients in our village. There are people who live connected to a device. The interruption jeopardises the lives of these people. We called DEDAŞ and they told us ‘You will not have electricity unless you allow us to take your meters to the poles’’.
On 27 August 2024, Dicle Elektrik Dağıtım A.Ş. (DEDAŞ) teams accompanied by gendarmerie and armored vehicles went to Kazancı neighbourhood and people protested against them. A gendarmerie personnel said: ‘We will not start anything until we take the meters out of your village. If you do not give permission, we will cut your electricity. We will leave you in the dark. Tomorrow we will come with bigger reinforcements. We will take your counters here to the electricity poles’.
(08/229) Special Security Zone in Şırnak…
The Governorate of Şırnak announced on 28 August 2024 that Bestler Dereler Region, Gabar Mountain Region bordering the central and Güçlükonak districts of Şırnak, Cudi Mountain Region bordering the central, Silopi and Cizre districts of Şırnak, Kurt Mountain Region bordering the central, Silopi and Uludere districts of Şırnak, Kelmehmetler-Dönmezler-Kovankay Region bordering the Beytüşşebap district of Şırnak, Tahtareş, Hüsrevpaşa-Suhurpaşayayla, İncebeldağları, Faraşin Regions, Altındağları Region within the borders of Beytüşşebap district of Şırnak province, Oymakaya Region within the borders of Beytüşşebap and Uludere districts of Şırnak province have been declared as temporary special security zones for 15 days between 30 August 2024 and 13 September 2024.
(08/230) Detained People…
Ministry of National Defence announced on 28 August 2024 that 3 people who were allegedly trying to illegally cross from Edirne to Greece were detained due to ‘being a member of an illegal organization’.
[1]The reports on the human rights violations of the Documentation Center are claims unless they are certified. The claim of violation either is certified through thoroughly investigations of HRFT Documentation Center, including by judicial verdicts, and becomes a definite data or it is not included to the annual report.
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[5] Daily Human Rights Reports are prepared on the information gathered by the Documentation Center from its own network and the following dailies and internet portals: Vatan, Milliyet, Hürriyet, Habertürk, Evrensel, Birgün, Cumhuriyet, Fırat Haber Ajansı, Jinnews, ETHA, Mezopotamya Ajansı, Yurt, Yeni Yaşam, NTV, Yeni Asya, Bianet, Halkinsesi.tv, Cnnturk, Tr724, İleri Haber, Siyasi Haber, Alınteri, Kızılbayrak, Sendika.org, Yüksekova Haber, T24, Diken, Gazete Karınca, Gazete Duvar. Haber Sol, El Cezire, BBC, Deutsche Welle, Reuters, AFP.