The Ankara Branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) has released its six-month report on rights violations in prisons across the Central Anatolia region. The report was read by Nuray Çevirmen, a member of the IHD Central Executive Committee.

Nuray Çevirmen shared the following details from the report: "According to IHD data, at least 31 prisoners lost their lives in various prisons between July and December 2024. Seventeen prisoners died due to illnesses and the denial of their right to medical treatment. One prisoner lost his/her life in an accident, one prisoner died of food poisoning, and twelve prisoners passed away under suspicious circumstances. In the Central Anatolia region, at least three prisoners staged indefinite, non-rotational hunger strikes in four prisons between July and December 2024 to protest rights violations. According to data announced by IHD on April 20, 2022, at least 1,517 sick prisoners remain behind bars, of which 651 are in critical condition. Based on the findings in this report, at least 980 violations of the right to healthcare occurred in Central Anatolia prisons between July and December 2024. Most of these violations involved the obstruction of prisoners’ transfers to fully equipped hospitals for treatment, denial of access to infirmaries, delays of medical referrals for up to six months, postponement of releases despite Forensic Medicine Institution reports, and hygiene problems."

Çevirmen emphasized that at least 408 violations occurred within six months and said: "However, the fact that the Ministry of Justice does not share data on this issue, the constant obstruction of communication in prisons, the strict monitoring of correspondence, the difficulties in obtaining information, particularly in rural prisons, and the reluctance of judicial prisoners to report their experiences to the press, authorities, or human rights organizations have led to the conclusion that the actual number of prisoners subjected to torture and ill-treatment is far higher than the reported figures. These instances of torture and ill-treatment were most commonly reported as strip searches, forced transfers, provocations by prison guards, and, notably, physical torture and verbal harassment at Sincan Women's Closed Prison."

Çevirmen highlighted that prisoners' rights to conditional release and supervised freedom were also obstructed through decisions made by the Administrative and Observation Boards. She stated that "in the Central Anatolia region, 14 prisoners were subjected to investigations, 27 prisoners were given disciplinary penalties, 10 prisoners received solitary confinement sentences, and one foreign national prisoner was denied their right to leave on the grounds of not being considered 'well-behaved.' Additionally, 99 prisoners had their rights to conditional release and supervised freedom denied by decisions of the Administrative and Observation Boards. Among these, three prisoners were forced to wait for their scheduled release date, and 18 prisoners had their sentences extended. Furthermore, one prisoner had his/her 'good behavior' status revoked and was transferred from an open prison to a high-security closed prison as a direct consequence of filing a complaint regarding rights violations. A total of 169 rights violations were identified in the report.

These transfers were carried out without any prior notification to the families, who often only became aware of the decision when they arrived at the prison for visits. At least 55 prisoners were relocated or transferred against their will."