IHD Observation Report
on the Incidents of 24-27 September 2018 at
Düzce T-Type Closed Penitentiary Institution
12 October 2018
Applications and the Formation of the Delegation
Güzel Keleş filed an application before İHD’s Adana Branch on 28 September 2018 stating that her son Selami Keleş was a convict incarcerated at Düzce T-Type Penitentiary Institution, he did not call although he had a right to talk on the phone on September 25, they were told that the phone was out of order when they called the prison, they learnt that the prison director was replaced when they called on September 28, there were various repressive practices, and the inmates had no safety of life.
Gazal Gültekin also filed an application before İHD’s Adana Branch on 29 September 2018 stating that her son Vedat Gültekin was a convict incarcerated at Düzce T-Type Penitentiary Institution, he did not call although he had a right to talk on the phone on September 25, they were subjected to sarcastic remarks like “your children do not want to call you, have we prevented them when they wanted to call you?” when they called the prison, her son called on September 29 and told them that the inmates were subjected to torture in the prison, they were put in an “upholstered room”[1], the prison director told them “these already are your good days” adding that he was worried about his life.
Yakup Vadi, Atilla Coşkun, A. Latif Teymur, Vedat Turgut, Vedat Gültekin, Sinan Tutmaz, Rıdvan Ünal, Muhammed Koçyiğit, Yakup Abiş, Yasin Eneç, and Selami Keleş sent a letter from Düzce T-Type Closed Penitentiary Institution to the İHD Headquarters stating that they were subjected to the physical and verbal assaults and insults of the head wardens and other wardens, notably of the First Director of the institution on September 25 during the morning roll-call, that medical reports revealing that they were battered could be found at the infirmary, all images of the assault were recorded by cameras, the traces of battery were still evident in their hands, feet, heads, arms, and backs; they did not have safety of life in the prison, they had sent a letter to the Ministry of Justice regarding this assault, and requested that a delegation should visit the prison in order to conduct necessary investigations.
The Delegation’s Visit and Conferences
Upon receiving the application, 3 lawyers who were also İHD members visited Düzce T-Type Closed Penitentiary Institution in order to confer with the inmates. The lawyers obtained authorization documents as the applicants were convicts and were only able to confer with lawyers without power-of-attorney by means of such a document alongside with the fact they had already used their 3 conference rights. Consequently, the lawyers were able to meet with convicts Selami Keleş, Atilla Coşkun and inmate Muhammed Koçyiğit.
Before the commencement of the conferences, A.E., a corrections officer who had undertaken the initial registration processes, claimed that the signatures on the authorization documents did not belong to the lawyers who signed the documents, told the lawyers that he would not permit them to conduct their conferences; the request of the lawyers to consult this issue with the director was denied, the corrections officer arbitrarily told the lawyers that he would not call the director, and the lawyers were forced to wait outside for half an hour. The lawyers, then, called their colleagues from whom they obtained the authorization documents and were allowed in but they were told that an official report would be filed after copying the authorization documents. Not only a corrections officer does not have the authority to authenticate signatures on authorization documents, but also it was learnt that the two convicts, who were supposed to be conferred with, were in the mean time transferred to a hospital on the very same day although it was not the date of their scheduled hospital referral to delay the conferences of the lawyers. Thus, following the completion of registration procedures, two lawyers waited for the inmates to come back from the hospital and the conference was held at about 16:00. Moreover, the fact that the inmates returned from the hospital was learnt by coincidence from a gendarmerie officer, not from corrections officers. Lawyers who conferred with the above-mentioned inmate were only able to get in the prison at about 14:00 because of the disputes with the officers. It is the delegation’s impression that all these had been planned in order to prevent lawyers from exercising their right to confer with the inmates and to set such conferences back alongside with an intent to prevent the public to learn about the incidents in the prison.
Selami Keleş stated in the conference that,
“The 1st Director and the chief warden of the institution went into the ward that housed 21 inmates on 25 September 2018 at 08:20 am, told the inmates that the roll-call would be conducted standing and collectively; almost 80 wardens entered the ward after the inmates told them that there had been no such practice up until that day and the wardens attacked the inmates physically, choking them and dragging them on the floor; they scattered and destroyed everything around in the ward and subjected the inmates to insult and threats in the meantime. For instance, the director said ‘I am the State’ and ‘I will make you throw up blood’ and everyone was dragged to the upholstered room after the battery having been handcuffed behind the back and were kept there for about two hours, the assault continued in this room as well; inmates named Aydın Akkış and Ahmet Akbalık had their tympanic membranes perforated, the wardens made fun of an inmate named Sinan Tutmaz who had lost a hand before while they were trying to handcuff him behind the back and when they failed to do so they tried to handcuff his feet; inmates with invisible traces of battery were able to obtain battery reports from the prison infirmary, they filed criminal complaints; while all these took place on September 25 and 26, the same incidents happened only within the ward on September 27 and 28 and were kept away from the corridor, that is, were not covered by the cameras’ viewpoint.”
Atilla Coşkun stated in the conference that,
“Following the entrance of a large group of wardens accompanied by the 1st Director of the Prison, K. K., on 25 September 2018, the inmates and convicts in the court and the dining section of the ward were told to ‘stand the heck up’ and ‘go the heck out’ and an inmate representative from the ward talked to the director in order to solve the problem to prevent further conflict; the convicts and inmates were assaulted upon the insistence of the wardens to make them ‘stand up’ followed by the 1st Director’s order to ‘disperse them’; more than 100 wardens were present during the attack despite the fact that only 21 inmates were in the ward, 21 persons were taken out to the main corridor after the attack, were handcuffed behind the back, insults and strong language continued alongside with the assault; statements like ‘I am the State, I will show you, we will acquaint you with our ancestors’, ‘It us who have full reign over here’, ‘You turned mountains and plains into bloodbath, we will make you pay off’; 21 persons were divided into two in 10 and 11 person-strong groups and placed in the upholstered room having been handcuffed from behind, they stayed in this room for about 1.5-2 hours with their handcuffs on; a convict named Aydın Akkış who was named to represent the inmates was taken out of the upholstered room and taken to the ward on the grounds that the ward would be searched, Akkış who was kept in handcuffs was taken by the arms by the wardens and they forced him to accompany the search placing him in the strappado position, they exposed him to beating when he said he did not know the material shown belonged to whom; then 21 persons were placed into two wards having been divided into two groups of 10 and 11.”
Coşkun also stated the following about the ensuing incidents of the following two days:
“A group less crowded than the one on 25 September 2018 entered the ward on 26 September 2018 accompanied by the 2nd Director, asked again for a standing roll-call followed by subjection to assault. The 1st Director K. K. who arrived later on said ‘You will fall down on your knees when I come in’ and took the inmates and convicts into the main corridor, made them lie on the floor and subjected them to the same insults and strong language; when an inmate named Yasin Eçen objected he was locked in the upholstered room and was taken back to his ward after half an hour to one hour later; less officers went into the room on the 3rd and 4th days, inmates and convicts were drawn out to the yard held by their arms, and while they were being drawn out they were battered in a space formed in the shape of a corridor.”
It has been alleged that the inmates obtained battery reports at the prison infirmary on 25 and 26 September but they were not taken to the infirmary although they requested battery reports for the 3rd and 4th days; the head wardens were present at the infirmary while the doctor was examining them and attempted to intervene into inmates’ accounts of the incidents. Furthermore, the lawyer who conferred with Atilla Coşkun saw the convict’s bruises in his left eye and the traces of injury that might have been formed on his wrists because of rear handcuffing. The convict also mentioned other traces of battery on his body which the infirmary doctor had marked.
Muhammed Koçyiğit stated in the conference that,
“70-80 wardens, 2 head officers, and the Institution Director K.K. went into the room on Tuesday 25 September around 8-9 am, the roll-call was being conducted while they were sitting, then the director said ‘Why are they sitting down? They should go out’; all the wardens beat the inmates out, they were handcuffed; 4-5 wardens beat one person and laid him on the floor; everyone was laid on the floor in the yard, they were taken to the upholstered room their arms twisted on their backs and their heads being pushed down; other wardens lined up in the corridor also hit them while they were passing down the corridor [It was stated that the upholstered room was a room upholstered with sponge in order to make it sound-proof, with a WC at the center, which was very hot, and into which people were locked stark naked. During these incidents, however, the inmates were not stripped down.] They were taken to two different upholstered rooms having been divided into two groups of 10 and 11; some were handcuffed, those who did not have handcuffs were taken to the main corridor and were laid down to be handcuffed; while he himself was lying face-down one warden pulled him upwards while the other pushed him down with his feet stepping on his head to make him lie down again; they tried to put their combat boots into his mouth, they tried to choke him by pressing on his ribs with their knees; both the director and the wardens insulted and threatened them in the meantime; the Director threatened them saying ‘You shed your blood in the mountains, we will make you shed your blood here. We will kill you all. Traitors. We will teach you submission. This has been the way since our ancestors’ adding that ‘I will not let you play the scenario written down by others. You will stop following America. Will I be frightened off by a couple of plunderers?’; the wardens swore at them saying ‘Fuck your mothers, bastards, traitors’; they were taken into two separate rooms after this; they came in again on September 26, beat them out to the yard and had a standing roll-call there, they were laid down on the ground, were taken to the main corridor, were laid down on the floor again, then they sat against the wall; the Director said ‘I told you I would do this…’, an inmate named Yasin Emeç said ‘You are torturing us. You would better kill us’ to which the Director responded shouting ‘Take him away’; Yasin Emeç was taken into the upholstered room and was kept there for a couple of hours; the Director in the meantime said in the room ‘This is my style, my way’; they beat them up while they were waiting in the corridor; they went to the infirmary 1-2 hours after the first two days of the incidents, they obtained battery reports; some had pain in their chests and necks; the doctor merely wrote down the visible traces of battery but the wardens hit them on their buttocks with their knees and on their backs with their elbows in a manner so as not to leave any traces; they were taken out to the yard having been beaten again on September 27 and 28; they were not taken to the infirmary within these two days; they were not able to inform their families since they were not allowed to use their communication rights by phone between September 24 and 28; he was able to relay the incidents when he was able to meet with his family on the visiting day on September 27.”
Meeting with Authorities
Following the lawyers’ conferences in the prison, a meeting was held with the public prosecutor of the prison at the courthouse. It was learnt that the prison prosecutor obtained testimonies from all complainant inmates on 3 October 2018, the recorded camera images of the upholstered room and the main corridor were summoned to the file, and an investigation would be carried out with the investigation file no 2018/12840.
Standing Roll-Call and the Concept of Human Dignity
Human dignity refers to the fact that a human being is valuable and deserves respect on the mere account of his/her being a human being. Today the concept of human dignity has secured its place as a legal term enshrined in the national legislation of virtually all countries and in international conventions.
The 6th paragraph of the Preamble to the Constitution prescribes that every citizen has an innate right and power to lead an honorable life while Article 17 sets forth that no one shall be subjected to penalties or treatment incompatible with human dignity; Article 2 of the Code on the Execution of Sentences and Security Measures, Article 4 of the By-law on the Management of Penitentiary Institutions and the Execution of Sentences and Security Measures, Articles 7 and 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and Article 2 of United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment provide that all persons deprived of their liberty have the right to be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, deprivation of liberty stipulated by liberty binding punishment shall be enforced under material and immaterial circumstances enabling the protection of respect for human dignity, and no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment within the scope of the execution of sentences and security measures.
As per Rule 5 § 1 of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (a.k.a. the Nelson Mandela Rules), the prison regime should seek to minimize any differences between prison life and life at liberty that tend to lessen the responsibility of the prisoners or the respect due to their dignity as human beings.
Under Article 72 § 1 of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers’ Recommendations on the European Prison Rules, prisons shall be managed within an ethical context which recognizes the obligation to treat all prisoners with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.
Particularly, under Article 46 § 9 of the By-Law on the Management of Penitentiary Institutions and the Execution of Sentences and Security Measures “It is essential to pay respect to human dignity during searches and roll-calls.”
İHD would also like to remind all concerned of the fact that a similar incident had taken place in Karaman Prison on 13 March 2018 involving the battery of prisoners due to standing roll-call and that it had issued a report on this incident on 13 April 2018.
İHD filed an application on 18 July 2018 before the Ministry of Justice, Directorate General of Prisons and Detention Houses with regards to the provision in the Ministry of Justice’s circular letter of 7 February 2018 concerning roll-calls be conducted standing as it violates the rights of prisoners and is incompatible with human dignity. The Directorate General responded on 10 August 2018 stating that the necessary inspections were in place.
Accordingly, asking to conduct roll-calls in a military order is incompatible with human dignity when one considers the facts that the wards are small, 21 persons are housed in a single ward, the roll-call times are precise, and the wardens can ascertain the number of persons staying in the ward without placing the inmates standing in a roll-call against a wall.
CONCLUSION
Effective investigations should be initiated against the public employees who have violated Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights that prescribes prohibition of torture: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
As has also been put forth within the scope of the ruling of the Constitutional Court (No. 2013/7907), investigations should engender sufficient impact regarding the prevention of acts of torture, ill-treatment, and treatment incompatible with human dignity and regarding the punishment of perpetrators if need be. Failing to do so will bring about an impression that persons engaged in such incidents are tolerated and this situation may encourage public employees inclined to undertake acts of torture, ill-treatment, and treatment incompatible with human dignity, and may betray individuals’ faith in the state and mechanisms of justice that are liable to protect individuals against such acts.
The First Director, who allegedly took an active part in the incidents, and the warden, who attempted to prevent lawyers from exercising their right to confer with inmates, should also be suspended until this investigation is finalized.
The battered inmates should be provided with an opportunity to access healthcare and their bodily and mental integrity should be protected.
All the necessary administrative measures should be taken in order to prevent similar ill-treatment cases in prisons as all persons deprived of their liberty have the right to be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.
HUMAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION
[1] The Ministry of Justice defines “upholstered rooms” (süngerli oda) as spaces with their ceilings, floors, and walls upholstered with sponge and guarded with canvas, where convicts and inmates can be watched and monitored by closed-circuit camera monitoring systems with images recorded, offering clean and waste water facilities to convicts and inmates to meet their humanitarian needs. According to the Ministry, convicts and inmates can be transferred to such rooms as a precautionary measure until they calm down in order to prevent them from inflicting harm on themselves and others under legal provisions. The Ministry also stated that there were 70 such rooms in prisons in Turkey as of 2014. The press, however, issued news reports that these rooms were used as “torture rooms” by prison guards. See: https://m.bianet.org/bianet/insan-haklari/156905-70-hapishanede-sungerli-oda-var