Whilst the Turkish government ignores the demands of the hunger strikers, the violations of rights with new oppressive practices and regulations has expanded in Turkey’s prisons.
Six men and women aged between 18 and 22 are in pre-trial detention since early May for their alleged participation in a protest in Batman to draw attention to the situation of prisoners on hunger strike.
Members of Peoples' Democratic Party in Turkey have addressed separate Parliamentary questions to Minister of Justice about the isolation of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), in Imrali Prison and the hunger strikes in prisons with a demand for an end to his isolation.
In their questions, the MPs have argued that Ocalan, who has been held in Imrali High Security Type F Closed Prison for 22 years, and other inmates in the same prison have been denied their all legal rights, primarily their right to meet their attorneys, to meet their family members, to make a phone call and to communicate by letter, fax and all means of communication.
The MPs have reminded the Minister that no face-to-face meeting with Ocalan has been held after the attorneys' visitation on August 7, 2019 and the family visit on March 3, 2020. They have indicated that the last time a phone call with family members was allowed was on April 27, 2020.
Thousands of prisoners in Turkey went on hunger strike from November 2018 demanding that the imprisoned leader of the armed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, can meet regularly with his lawyers and family members.
According to Amnesty International, authorities subjected prisoners on hunger strike to disciplinary investigations and punishments, including bans from taking part in social and cultural activities as well as prolonged solitary confinement, to intimidate and pressure them to end their protest.
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