AMED - Stating that there are 383 children in Prisons, CİSST Coordinator Jiyan Ay said: “The prison conditions negatively affect both the children and their mothers in prison, physically and psychologically.” 

 

Violations continue to increase in prisons, where the government boasts and heralds that the number is increasing day by day. There are a total of 405 prisons in Turkey, including 9 closed prisons for children and youth. Especially the "Type S" and "Type Y" and high security prisons, which started to be opened in 2021, cause damage to the physical, social and mental health of prisoners.

 

Psychologist Jiyan Ay, Coordinator of the Civil Society Association in the Penal System (CİSST) Support Center, made evaluations about the situation of women and children in prison.

 

'THE NUMBER OF PRISONERS IS CONSTANTLY INCREASING'

 

Stating that the number of prisoners in prisons is 292 thousand, Ay said: “As of the summer, an execution arrangement was made. Nearly 80 thousand prisoners were released in this execution arrangement. None of these included political or political prisoners. Before the execution regulation, the number of prisoners in this prison was around 360 thousand, and this number was suddenly reduced to 270 thousand, and within a few months it reached 290 thousand again. We can foresee that it will reach a number above this capacity again in a few months. Because many people are detained and put in prison within a month."

 

Underlining that there are 19 women's prisons in Turkey and that their physical and architectural structure is not suitable for women to survive, Ay said: "According to the minutes of the latest Parliamentary investigations, the number of women is currently 12 thousand. The number of children between the ages of 12-18 remaining is 2 thousand 600. The number of children remaining with their mothers is stated as 383. The ministry does not have any data regarding children staying with their mothers. There are many problems regarding access to pads specifically for women prisoners. Women may have to make pads from sheets according to their own needs. Therefore, they may face disciplinary penalties due to damage to corporate property. There are many problems in accessing women's reproductive health and treatment."

 

'IT LIMITS CHILDREN'S IMAGINATION'

 

Ay said: “It is a place where there is no playground within four walls and where they cannot take their imagination to a very high level. Imagination is something that can occur not only through storytelling but also through the influence of many environmental factors around. You cannot see the sky, the birds, or have any vision of nature. There is research that this has an impact on the child, both physically, mentally and spiritually.” 

 

'EVEN THE SUN COMING FROM AN UPSIDE DOWN ANGLE IS BLOCKED'

 

Underlining that prisoners are exposed to more segregation and isolation, especially in the newly built type "S" and "Y" high security prisons, Ay said: "There are especially types S and Y that are designed opposite to the sun. The fact that it is designed at an angle opposite to the sun causes vitamin D deficiency in most prisoners. The wire meshes on the windows try to block even the sunlight coming from the opposite angle. It brings problems with the eyes due to the lack of light."

 

Noting that the number of types S and Y has increased greatly over the year, Ay said: “There are currently 7 S Type prisons, but the Y types were increased from 3 to 14 within a year. Their numbers are increasing and they consist only of political prisoners. Generally, single and 3-person cell structures are available. You cannot benefit from any social activities. Especially aggravated life sentence prisoners spend 23 hours in their cells and use only one hour for ventilation, as the legislation regulates. However, there are still deficiencies and violations of rights in practice regarding what this means in the legislation. Many prisoners can only go out for air for an hour weekly or an hour every three weeks or a month.”

 

'FOOD IS PROBLEM'

 

Adding that there is a huge problem regarding food in all prisons, Ay said: “Because the daily meals given to prisoners are not sufficient to meet their food needs. Most of the prisoners face starvation due to plastic materials, stones and similar materials being found in the food."

 

'THEIR DEMANDS ARE JUSTIFIED AND MUST RESULT IN A GAIN'

 

Drawing attention to the ongoing hunger strikes in prisons, Ay continued as follows: “There is an isolation that exists not only in the prison area but also outside. It is dispersed and spread throughout society. There is a reality; hunger strikes in prisons are a basic need, a form of rebellion and struggle against existing issues. It has been used both internally and externally as a constant struggle and resistance mechanism since the beginning of Kurds history and struggle. Of course, the existing demands are justified because there is an intensifying isolation and this isolation is being imposed on the whole society. It is imposed on the whole society through just one individual. There are evaluations that once the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan is abolished, the isolation of all prisoners will be abolished. Their demands and struggles are absolutely justified, they have expressed how long the process can continue, but we still hope that the struggle can result in a victory again.”

 

MA / Eylem Akdağ