Judicial pressure continues on families, guardians, lawyers and relatives who deposit money to prisoners in prisons. Those who deposit money are either detained, sued or arrested. The reason given for the detentions, arrests and lawsuits is "financing the terror organization." 75-year-old Hatice Yıldız and Human Rights Association (İHD) Istanbul Branch Board Member Hatice Onaran are also under arrest due to the sentences they received for the said charges.

 

The Association for Assistance with the Families of Prisoners (TUAY-DER) in Amed (Diyarbakır) launched a campaign to send money to prisons with the slogan "It is not a crime to deposit money to prisoners" in response to what is happening. Money was sent to many prisoners yesterday as part of the campaign.

 

‘IT IS A VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS’

 

TUAY-DER Co-chair Yeter Erel Tuma emphasized that sending money to prisoners who are financially poor by third parties cannot be considered a crime. Yeter Erel Tuma said that the practice in question was “the reflection of the isolation imposed on PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan in prisons.”

 

Drawing attention to the situation of prisoners from Northern and Eastern Syria in prison, Yeter Erel Tuma said: “They are trying to prevent the solidarity of their friends, comrades, and those who feel responsible. Breaking this solidarity and criminalizing it is a state policy. We do not accept this. We are raising our voices against the isolation that started in İmralı and spread to every part of Kurdistan and is changing dimensions every day, against this system, oppression and practices that are implemented in prisons that are unbecoming of human dignity.”

 

CALL FOR SOLIDARITY FROM FAMILIES

 

Meryem Tuna, who joined the campaign to support the prisoners, emphasized that it would not be possible for the prisoners to continue their lives without any support. "Today, there is a great isolation on all of us. We do not accept this situation and want it to be lifted immediately. The prisons must be emptied as soon as possible. We do not want to hear news of deaths from the prisons," she said. 

 

Another prisoner's relative Nazime Boltan, who described the economic difficulties experienced by the prisoners, said: "The prisoner has no financial situation, no family. The amount of money I send him is considered a crime. My call is for this campaign to continue for a longer time."

 

Stating that there is no such practice anywhere in the world, prisoner's relative Meryem Soylu said: "The Kurds do not accept this savagery and oppression. The Kurds are no longer kneeling to them. They need to sit at the table with the Kurds properly. They cannot destroy the Kurds by killing them, throwing them into prisons or burning their villages."

 

Reacting to the penalties given to those who send money to prisoners, Meryem Soylu stated that the practice in question is not independent of the isolation imposed on PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan. Meryem Soylu continued her words as follows: "Everyone should come and join our campaign and send money to their children. Let's stand by our children against the state that oppresses Kurds even in prison and makes them live in isolation within isolation."