Three girls under 18 are being held in solitary confinement in Şakran prison as a punishment for being pregnant and have been denied medical treatment in spite of suffering labour pains. It has emerged that rights violations are continuing in the notorious Şakran prison. In a letter sent by women inmates to their lawyer, prisoners complained of a special squad being set up to carry out psychological torture, and said 3 pregnant girls under 18 were being held in solitary confinement.  

The letter said the three girls were being denied medical treatment, despite suffering labour pains, and that certain prison officers had taken away the remote controls of TVs in children’s blocks.

‘Boiling water poured on mentally ill inmate’

In the letter, women inmates said a mentally unstable prisoner called Hanım Dudu who had a history of self-harm was being held in a cell without windows, as she had broken windows and used the shards to cut herself. The cell in which Hanım Dudu is being held is colder than other cells and the letter said prison officers had attempted to scald Dudu by pouring boiling water over her.

'Psychological mistreatment being implemented’

The women’s letter complained of inmates being woken up every hour for searches that had an adverse effect of their psychology. The women inmates said a senior woman prison officer named Gönül was in charge of a squad of officers who were called the A team, and carried out psychological torture of inmates. They said no action had been taken regarding the A team, despite all the complaints made by the inmates. 

The women said in their letter that Şakran prison had been a hellish place since the day it had opened, and called for raised public awareness of the issue.