Threat from guards: If you don't say ‘How happy I am to be Turkish,’ we'll kill you

2025-12-14 09:07:27


	 

	WAN - It has been reported that Ishak Dayan, who has been held in a cell for months at Burdur High Security Prison, was threatened by guards who said, "If you don't say 'How happy I am to be Turkish,' we'll kill you." 

	 

	Human rights violations against prisoners in prisons continue. In many prisons, prisoners are unable to enjoy even their basic rights. One of the prisons where serious human rights violations occur is Burdur High Security Prison. 

	 

	Ishak Dayan, who is held in this prison, recounted the human rights violations and ill-treatment he and his friends experienced during his weekly phone call with his brohter. Brother Ismet Dayan said: “During my phone call with my brother, he told me that he was subjected to inhumane treatment and that they were systematically exposed to violence by the guards.”

	 

	DRAGGED ACROSS THE FLOOR

	 

	Ismet Dayan stated: "My brother told us, 'The guards repeatedly hit my head against the radiator. They threw me to the floor and kicked me in the head and chest for minutes. I was dragged on the floor and taken to the infirmary, where they said, 'If you don't say ‘How happy I am to be Turkish,’ we will kill you here.' When we asked, 'Who did this?', he said it was done by a group of racist guards in the prison. My brother is systematically beaten and threatened with death by racist guards almost every day. His belongings are confiscated, from shaving foam to razor blades; he is held in a cell for months. They throw his medication in his face and throw it on the floor. When he was exiled to prison, he was subjected to strip searches."

	 

	RACIST PRACTICES

	 

	Dayan stated that such situations undermine trust during a period when the peace process is being discussed. He concluded: "My brother's books and letters to human rights defenders were also confiscated. Similarly, letters written to the CHP group were confiscated and torn up, and his notebooks were also confiscated. If there is a process underway, why are prisoners, especially ill prisoners, being subjected to such inhumane treatment that violates human dignity? The aim of this is a policy of intimidating prisoners. This treatment wounds society and undermines trust. On the one hand, they talk about peace, but on the other hand, they display fascist and racist attitudes towards prisoners in jails.”

	 

	MA / Bilal Babat