Prisoner punished for dancing halay and writing in Kurdish

In Silivri No. 5 L Type Closed Prison, wards were raided on 8 October and around 150 prisoners were exiled to different prisons and wards. Lawyers who visited the prison after the raid shared that the prisoners were beaten and their belongings were confiscated. Mahmut Olgun, one of the prisoners who was moved to a different ward, talked about his experiences in a phone call with his family.

Punished for writing in Kurdish

Olgun said that he was punished to 5 days in isolation for a book he wrote in Kurdish and that a disciplinary investigation was launched against him for dancing halay. He also had his books and letters were confiscated. “When someone goes to the hospital, they are not allowed to see anyone for a month. There is no measure against Coronavirus, but they use any excuse to punish us. They go in and out of our rooms without masks. Our sick friends are not treated.”

Olgun’s morther: We should be united against violations

Olgun’s mother, Kubar Olgun, said that her son has been subjected to violence by the guards before and that he had a black eye during a visit.

Olgun’s mother said: “If there is no Kurdish problem, why are our children rotting in prisons? Why is our language banned? We need to unite against violations. We demand our prisoners to be released.”