Prisoner who witnessed Gezer’s death is on hunger strike

Deniz Tepeli, a friend of Garibe Gezer, who died in Kandıra No. 1 F Type High-Security Prison and witnessed her death, began a hunger strike on December 27. Former Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Figen Yüksekdağ, who is imprisoned in the same jail as Tepeli, alleged that Tepeli’s testimony and complaint were similarly rejected after she went on hunger strike in protest at not being heard as a witness of Gezer’s death.

In a letter she sent to Etkin News Agency (ETHA), Yüksekdağ said, “Deniz Tepeli, who shared the same outdoor yard alternately and limitedly with Garibe, spent years in a hole in the concrete called a cell, and is on hunger strike just to witness a death. Deniz’s testimony and complaint were dismissed, despite the fact that she was the only person who observed there was no sound from Garibe’s cell during her time outdoors, could not hear the plea for help due to the closed buttons, and witnessed the moment of delayed intervention. She subjected her body to indefinite hunger just to act as a witness. The judiciary of false witnesses has omitted one more of the true witnesses.”