Azize Akoğlu

 

ANTALYA - Ezgi Aktı stated that the process Turkey is undergoing reveals a process of rebuilding, saying, “If the political power truly demonstrates a will for democratization, negotiation, and resolution, it can most clearly demonstrate this through its approach to political prisoners in prisons.”

 

Inhumane practices against prisoners continue systematically in Antalya Manavgat Type S and Alanya Type L prisons. Female prisoners, despite having completed their sentences, are prevented from being released due to biased decisions by the Administration and Observation Boards (İGK), while the prison administration does not transfer sick prisoners to hospitals for treatment or imposes double handcuffs during these transfers.

 

Ezgi Aktı, Co-Spokesperson for the Prison Commission of the Lawyers for Freedom Association (ÖHD), reported on the rights violations experienced by female prisoners in prisons in Antalya and surrounding regions, and assessed the obstruction of the release of prisoners in the “Peace and Democratic Society” process from a legal and social conscience perspective.

 

Ezgi Aktı stated that human rights violations experienced by female prisoners in prisons in Antalya and its surroundings have become systematic, saying, “Access to healthcare, hygiene conditions, solitary confinement practices, and arbitrary sentence extensions continue to be serious problems. The situation of female prisoners who are ill is particularly striking.”

 

Multi-dimensional rights violations in Antalya and surrounding prisons

 

Sharing that prisoners face many problems in their daily living conditions, in addition to violations of their access to healthcare rights in prisons, Ezgi Aktı said: "There are serious problems in accessing sanitary pads and hygiene products, which are among the most basic needs. Not only does the prison administration fail to provide these products, but their absence from the canteens has also become a serious problem. This situation demonstrates that being a woman leads to a second punishment under prison conditions.

 

The rights violations experienced by female prisoners in prisons in Antalya and its surroundings are multidimensional, ranging from the denial of the right to health to social isolation, from access to hygiene products to arbitrary sentence extensions. These violations have reached a level that is unacceptable not only from a legal perspective but also from a social conscience perspective."

 

‘Reports are being instrumentalized to prevent releases’

 

Emphasizing that the Administration and Monitoring Board often arbitrarily exercises its authority to conduct “good conduct assessments” as provided for by law, Ezgi Aktı stated: “It links prisoners’ releases to statements of remorse, renouncing their beliefs, or forcing confessions. This approach is not only incompatible with the fundamental principles of law, but also punishes individuals' freedom of thought and expression. Reports by the Forensic Medicine Institute are often far from independent and objective; even seriously ill prisoners are given reports stating that they ‘can remain in prison’. But these reports are being instrumentalized to prevent releases. These arbitrary practices undermine not only the sense of justice of the prisoners concerned, but also that of society as a whole."

 

‘Decisions regarding releases should be subject to judicial review’

 

Emphasizing that the IGC’s assessments of “good behavior” should be based on objective and measurable indicators, rather than arbitrary criteria, Ezgi Aktı stated, “Practices such as making statements of thought and identity a criterion for ‘remorse’ should be discontinued. The reports issued by the ATK should be independent and scientifically based. Instead of reports from a single institution that is open to political pressure, reports should be issued by independent medical panels and subject to oversight. Subjecting all decisions regarding releases to automatic judicial review by the enforcement court will strengthen legal guarantees."

 

'Prisoners who are ill should be released'

 

Noting that the process Turkey is undergoing reveals not only a legal but also a social need for reconstruction, Ezgi Aktı stated: "If the political power truly demonstrates a will for democratization, negotiation, and resolution, it can demonstrate this most clearly through its approach to political prisoners in prisons. Removing arbitrary obstacles to release and immediately freeing sick prisoners will both ease the social conscience and provide a strong guarantee of the sincerity of the negotiation process."