PKK-PAJK prisoners: “The government is responsible for deaths in prisons”

The PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and PAJK (Free Women’s Party of Kurdistan) prisoners in Turkey have issued a statement on the recent deaths in Turkish prisons. On Wednesday morning, Halil Güneş was found dead in his solitary cell in Diyarbakir (Amed) high security prison and 56-year-old Abdülrezzak Şuyur died in Şakran prison in Izmir. Both had been imprisoned since 1993 and were suffering from serious illnesses.

On behalf of the PKK and PAJK prisoners, Deniz Kaya said: “Our sick companions Halil Güneş and Abdulrezzak Şuyur have fallen after a long time in prison due to the mentality and actions of the fascist AKP/MHP government based on denial, annihilation, assimilation and genocide. Recently, our comrade Garibe Gezer has also been killed in prison due to torture applications, including rape systematically carried out with a patriarchal fascist mentality.”

The fact that the judiciary in Turkey is not independent has been proven once again by the fact that Garibe Gezer’s file was placed under confidentiality. With this method, the perpetrators have already been exposed, said Deniz Kaya. For the isolation policy of the Turkish state, 29 years of imprisonment is not enough, imprisonment ends only with death, Kaya added.

“The AKP/MHP government and specifically the Ministry of Justice are responsible for the death of our comrades who dedicated their lives in prison to the struggle for freedom, equality, democracy and truth. They will have to justify themselves legally and to our people,” the statement continued.

The prisoners from the PKK and PAJK trials called on the people of Kurdistan and all revolutionary, democratic and freedom circles to protest against the deadly repression in the prisons; “Taking a stand against torture and death is a social obligation. All sick prisoners must be released immediately.”

The statement also holds the Turkish Constitutional Court, the European Human Rights Court and the Committee for the Prevention of Torture responsible for the deaths of sick prisoners because they did not take the necessary action in time: “We expect immediate action from the international institutions against the deadly policy of isolation, oppression and torture in Imrali and all other prisons.”

The statement continued, “The struggle against the genocidal crackdown can only be successful if we unite in resistance, organisation and action. We promise our fallen companions that there will be a dignified life in a free Kurdistan and that a democratic nation will be built. In this way, we will remember them. We announce that all sick prisoners must be released. The AKP/MHP government is responsible for possible negative developments in the dungeons.”