Report on rights violations in Marmara Region prisons: 726 rights violations revealed in 30 applications

The Human Rights Association (IHD) Istanbul Branch Prisons Commission held a press conference at its headquarters in Beyoglu to present the Marmara Region Prisons Rights Violations Report. During the meeting, Mehmet Acettin, an IHD Istanbul Branch Prisons Commission member, and lawyer Jiyan Tosun presented the results.

The chairperson of the IHD Istanbul Branch, Gulseren Yoleri, evaluated the report which covered the violations in April, May, and June. She emphasized that the report revealed a disturbing reality in which every prisoner experienced continuous violations.

The applications received by the Istanbul Branch of IHD during this period came from prisoners, convicts, or their families and lawyers. These reports were submitted through letters, faxes, phone calls, e-mails, or personal visits. They came from 11 different prisons, four of which were in the Marmara region.

The report revealed 726 violations out of the 30 applications received. In addition, 242 more violations were documented through press scans, totaling 968 violations in the three months.

Yoleri highlighted the main rights violations faced by the detainees, including the right to life, cases of torture, violations of the right to health, unjust detention, threats of execution, obstruction of access to justice, and violations of the right to communication.

She expressed concern about the widespread use of practices such as strip searches and oral searches and the prevalence of verbal abuse, insults, threats, and degrading treatment in prisons.

In the final part of the report, Yoleri emphasized the urgency of finding a permanent solution to these problems, stressing that it is the responsibility of the state to act under domestic laws, the constitution, the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and other international human rights documents.