ADANA - Attorney Tugay Bek pointing out that the restiction to the visits is not a measure and that the virus could be brought in the prison via prison personnel or the attorneys, said the remission of punishment should include all prisoners."
Adana Bar Association, Prison Monitoring Commission Lawyer Tugay Bek, explained the situation of the prisoners and measures taken in prisons regarding the coronavirus (Kovid-19). Stating that the prisoners are visited by their attorneys, said the prisons are currently holding more people than their capacity. Bek stating that the prisoners are very concerned, said the sick prisoners were not referred to hospitals to avoid the spread of the disease. Bek said: "The prison staff are entering and exiting the prison. Their fever is measured at the entrance and exits. The prison is a crowded area and there is no social isolation. The wards are said to be sanitized but we don't know if it was effective enough. The prisoners are allowed to speak to their families on the phone twice a week. This is the only measure they took."
VULNERABLE IN THE FACE OF THE OUTBREAK
Bek who said "The prisons are closed institutions and, in terms of their organization, it is very easy for a virus to spread in prisons that does not have personal areas or hygiene", added that even though no one was diagnosed with coronavirus in prisons yet, it doesn't mean that this will never happen.
Bek emphasizing that it is not possible to prevent the virus from spreading to the prisons with a measure such as a visitation restriction, said: "There are prison staff and attorneys coming from outside all the time. It is not possible to isolate the prisons from the outside world. There are prisoners whose immune systems are week due to the prison conditions. They are vulnerable to the virus. Considering the spreading rate of the virus in other countries, it is inevitable that the disease will be seen among prisoners in prisons in a short time. Insisting on arresting people will be a clear violation of the right to life while all areas where the community is closed to public."
Bek, stating: "Judicial control is a precaution in our criminal justice system to ensure the accused is borught to justice. If the conditions of arrest occurs, judicial control can be implemented instead of imprisonment", said the prisoners must be released with judicial control to prevent the virus from spreading further. Bek also emphasized that the remission of punishment should include all prisoners."
MA / Hamdullah Kesen