ISTANBUL - Reacting to the fact that her daughter Mizgin Çiçek, who is imprisoned in Şakran Prison, could not benefit from her right of probation on the grounds that she did not go to an ‘independent ward’, Mirzeydin Çiçek said that he would not accept this situation and would take it to the ECtHR if necessary.

 

Mizgin Çiçek, who was arrested on March 23, 2017 while she was a student at Dokuz Eylül University, applied to Şakran Women's Closed Prison, where she was imprisoned in order to benefit from probation when the execution of the sentence of six years and three months for "being a member of a terrorist organization" fell below one year. However, the prison administration stated that it would process Mizgin's petition on the condition that she would show ‘repentance’ and ‘independent ward’.

 

While burning executions in many prisons have been on the agenda recently, families and human rights institutions that report rights violations state that Şakran Prison is a ‘pilot area’ at this point.

Mizgin’s father, Mirzeydin Çiçek, said that Mizgin and his two children were imprisoned in prison, two of his children had to leave the country for political reasons, and one of his children died in Kobanê. Mirzeydin noted that the state took revenge on them in this way.

 

‘Arbitrarily held as hostage’

 

Noting that he was imprisoned in prison for 20 months during the 1980 coup, Mirzeydin said that the prisoners struggled again for the rights gained through various gains. Expressing that his daughter was arrested for her social media posts and sending a book to her brother in prison, Mirzeydin said: ‘’My daughter has gone to court three times since she was arrested. Each time, the prosecutor asked for her release, but the court decided to continue her detention. The judge arbitrarily held her as a hostage.’’

 

‘If necessary, I will take it to the ECHR’

 

Mirzeydin stated that his daughter wrote a petition to the prison administration for the execution of four and half month’s sentence. However, Mirzeydin, who stated that the petition was rejected on the grounds that her daughter did not go to an independent ward, reacted with the following words: ‘’Now is this legal? It is an arbitrary treatment applied by the prison administration. I do not accept this situation. I will apply where necessary. If necessary, I will take it to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). She has been arbitrarily held hostage for four and a half years. She was in her last year when she was arrested, and she had three months left to finish school. If there is a constitution and the rule of law, they declare that these rights are trampled on.

 

‘Worst prison is Şakran’

 

Expressing that there are a lot of violations of rights against prisoners, especially in Şakran Prison, Mirzeydin said that he has been visiting many prisons for 11 years. ‘’I have seen so many places, but Şakran was the worst,’’ he said. Sharing the information that his daughter has problems in her eyes, stomach, and waist, Mirzeydin continued his words as follows: ‘’They make the prisoners have difficulty in going to and from the hospital. When my daughter goes to the hospital, the hospital report disappears. Can you imagine how a report can be lost? Prisoners are subjected to torture and isolation. She has 10 minutes of phone call rights a week, which is constantly cut off. The last time I spoke on the phone, the call was cut off three times. We absolutely do not accept this. I stand behind my own child and all children. They did not commit a crime, they did not kill anyone, they did not steal. They just make a demand to live humanely, and for that demand they are punished.’’

 

‘They have to enforce the law’

 

Describing the implementation of the burning of executions as ‘torture’ in the last period of the prisoners, Mirzeydin said: ‘’The prisoners are on hunger strike to end these violations and to lift the isolation on Mr. Öcalan. They trample the rights given by the law, and the prisoners started this action in order not to accept it. There has been no meeting with Mr. Öcalan for a long time. Turkey must implement its laws.’’