Relatives of Kurdish political prisoners forced to speak Turkish in Prisons

2021-12-03 12:26:08


	 

	İSTANBUL -  It has been stated that in Silivri Prison No. 3, where the obligation to speak Turkish is imposed on the relatives of the prisoners for telephone conversations, 20 detainees are given food for 5 people.

	 

	Violations of rights in Silivri Prison are increasing. Exiles to other prisons, physical violence during transfers, confiscation of belongings and books, solitary confinement and disciplinary punishments, restrictions on visits and communication are among the leading violations. Recently some other violations came to the fore. Prisoners are made to wear ID cards, referring to them as terrorists while they are forced to speak in Turkish with their families on the phone. The families are also forced to speak in Turkish. Prisoners are refusing to be visited or speak to their families on the phone in protest for more than a month.

	 

	Relatives of the prisoners in Silivri Prison No. 3 called for awareness, telling about the rights violations.

	 

	PRISONERS ARE RESISTING

	 

	Meral Fırat, sister of Fergil Fırat, who is being held in Silivri Prison No. 3, stated that the prison administration imposes some rules made up by themselves and prisoners have been resisting. Stating that the prison administration told her that he is managing the prison with certain rules and if they don't like it they are free to file a criminal complaint to the prosecutor's office, Fırat said: "I told the manager that the prisoners refuse to be visited because of these rule they made up. I also asked him why he banned speaking in Kurdish on the phone. He did not accept that he did but he told me, "You know well why I did that."

	 

	'WE DON'T ACCEPT THESE PRESSURES'

	 

	Underlining that the ID cards imposed on the political prisoners will cause discrimination and they are trying to label the political prisoners as terrorists, Fırat said: "Thay are trying to break the will of the prisoners with these impositions. The problems experienced by the prisoners are increasing on a daily basis. We haven't been able to see our relatives for more than a month. I haven't seen my brother for more than a month. They are already using the pandemic against the prisoners for the last 2 years. We don't accept this pressure imposed on us."

	 

	CALL FOR AWARENESS

	 

	Emphasizing that it is enough to observe the prisons in order to understand whether a country is just or not, Fırat said, "If they are imposing isolation on us right now, it can get worse tomorrow. Therefore, we want everyone to be aware of what's happening in prisons and voice the demands of the prisoners."

	 

	'THEY INTERRUPT THE PHONECALLS'

	 

	Fürvet Kösem, mother of Abdullah Kösem said she hasn't heard from her son for 3 months. Underlining that pressure on prisoners and violence is increasing in Silivri prison, Kösem said: "They banned Kurdish. They imposed an identification card for 'terrorists'. We are not terrorists. We are Kurdish. I hear guards yelling at my son, warning him that I should speak in Turkish, that Kurdish is prohibited in prison. I don't speak Turkish. I am Kurdish. I speak Kurdish. Our language is Kurdish even if you kill us. This will not change. They interrupt our phonecalls because we speak Kurdish."

	 

	FOOD FOR 5 GIVEN TO 20 PEOPLE

	 

	Pointing out that she is being harassed and badly treated when she goes to the prison to visit her son, Kösem said: "There are 20 people in my son's ward but they are given food for 5. We gave birth to our children. They are people. How are they doing this? They are starving our children. How long will this tyranny continue. If you are Kurdish, you somehow end up in prison. We do not accept this."