Inmates incarcerated in Antalya Prison are being subjected to various types of torture and maltreatment by the prison authorities, according to a report on the Aktif Haber news website on Friday, based on the accounts of inmates’ relatives.
There were already claims of torture at the Antalya Police Station against people detained due to alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement. According to Aktif Haber, similar practices are now being employed at Antalya Prison against people who were arrested due to alleged links to the Gülen movement, which is accused by the Turkish government of masterminding a failed coup attempt on July 15.
Turkey’s general director of prisons and houses of detention, Enis Yavuz Yıldırım, and Antalya L Type Prison Warden İbrahim Demir are being held responsible for the torture of inmates.
According to accounts of inmates’ relatives whose names cannot be revealed due to sensitivity of the issue, inmates are subjected to physical violence; there is a systematic torture of inmates who are former military and police officers; the inmates who have been subjected to violence are denied medical treatment; inmates are allowed to see a doctor only every 45 days and they are sometimes not given the medicine prescribed by the doctor; delivery of medication is done every 45 days, which leads to deterioration of health problems; and inmates are constantly subjected to insults, threats and swear words.
The prison wards are extremely crowded and 47 inmates are forced to stay in a prison ward with a maximum capacity of 18 people; inmates sleep in turn on beds because they are insufficient in number. The inmates who are kept in cells are not allowed to take ablution to perform daily prayers; inmates are allowed to have hot water for only 25 minutes a day; inmates are not allowed to send letters to their relatives; and lawyers face many obstacles in meeting with their clients. When they are able to meet with their clients at Antalya Prison, they can meet only for very short periods of time.