On the 317th day of his hunger strike resistance, political prisoner Serkan Onur Yilmaz, who is held in Pit-type Prisons where neither sunlight nor fresh air enters and where people are deprived of human contact, was forcibly taken to hospital. Yilmaz, who is carrying out a hunger strike resistance in isolation to demand the transfer of eight of his fellow prisoners to other facilities, is being denied visits with his lawyers.
Doga Incesu from the People’s Law Office, one of the lawyers facing this arbitrary obstruction by the execution prosecutor, spoke to ANF.
Preparing to file a criminal complaint against the prosecutor who unlawfully rejected their requests to meet with their client, Incesu noted that Yilmaz is being held in the prisoners’ ward of the Koroglu Unit at Bolu Izzet Baysal Hospital. He underlined that while there is currently no attempt at forced medical intervention, Yilmaz is being kept under isolation conditions.
Guards locked the other two prisoners in the yard and took Serkan away
Doga Incesu recalled that on the 317th day of his hunger strike resistance, their client Serkan Onur Yilmaz was transferred against his will from Bolu Type F Prison to the prisoners’ ward of the Koroglu Unit at Bolu Izzet Baysal Hospital. He explained that this forced transfer took place on September 23 and continued: “The guards entered the cell saying they would meet with Serkan, then locked the other two prisoners in the yard. Afterwards, they took Serkan, who was struggling even to walk, away. Once forcibly transferred to the hospital, Serkan warned that in the event of forced intervention he would also stop taking water and sugar. After that, no intervention was carried out.”
Our request to visit was rejected by the prosecutor
Incesu stated that as soon as they learned about the transfer, they informed members of parliament. Incesu said, “The deputies called the hospital, and as lawyers we went to Bolu on Thursday. We first requested permission from the prosecutor to meet with our client, but our request was denied. On Friday, both we as lawyers and the family again applied for permission to visit, but our request was once again rejected by the prosecutor. We argued about this arbitrary obstruction at the hospital, and later at the prosecutor’s office, where finally only Serkan’s mother and father were granted permission to visit him.”
Serkan told his family he would not end his hunger strike resistance until his demand is met
Incesu shared that after meeting with Serkan Onur Yilmaz, his family reported that although he had become very weak, his morale remained high. Incesu said: “Serkan told his family that his demand is very simple and that he will not end his hunger strike resistance until the demand for the transfer of his friends is met. He asked for his demand to be fulfilled as soon as possible and said, ‘I believe we will win.’ Meeting with his family lifted his spirits.”
Facing isolation in pit-type prison, Yilmaz demands transfer of his friends
Lawyer Doga Incesu stated that Serkan Onur Yilmaz himself had previously been held in Antalya High Security Prison, where he was subjected to imposed isolation conditions, and that this was the very prison from which his friends now seek transfer. He explained: “Serkan was already transferred to Bolu Type F Prison as a result of a hunger strike he carried out against those isolation conditions. But he objected to leaving eight of his friends there, and this time he turned his hunger strike into a hunger strike resistance for their transfer. At present, four of the eight prisoners held in Antalya Type Y Prison are already on an indefinite hunger strike demanding transfer.”
Incesu underlined that while there has been no attempt at forced medical intervention against his client at the hospital where he is currently being held, Yilmaz is nonetheless kept in isolation there. He pointed out that, unlike in Bolu Type F Prison where his needs were met with the help of his fellow inmates, in the hospital he is deprived of any such support.
Incesu emphasized that even the request for his mother to stay as a companion was denied by the prosecutor and the hospital doctor. Incesu said, “In Bolu Type F, as I said, he was held together with two of his friends who supported and helped him in every way. Now Serkan is alone. He already struggles to go to the bathroom, and since he has difficulty walking, he spends most of his time lying down. He suffers from sleep problems and severe pain especially in his legs. Blood has been taken from him and we were told his values are not bad, but we cannot say anything since we have not seen the results. He is being given vitamin B1, water, and sugar. Bolu Type F Prison is the one sending him to hospital. But his condition is critical. He has circulatory problems, and black spots have appeared on his joints. Our client is already refusing intervention. Keeping him in the hospital under isolation conditions without a companion will only further damage his health and wear him down more quickly.”
Accept our client’s demand immediately
Incesu underlined that his client’s demand is very simple and feasible, and said: “They will transfer the eight prisoners to prisons that are not Pit-type Prisons, that’s all. Taking our client to hospital instead of meeting this demand does not preserve his life; on the contrary, it accelerates his death. If the issue is to preserve life, then accept Serkan Onur Yilmaz’s demand so that he can end his hunger strike resistance and regain his health as soon as possible. No one should die or be killed over this demand. Conditions in Pit-type Prisons are truly harsh. People are kept in tiny cells without ventilation or sunlight. This is fundamentally against human nature. There is nothing around to warn you or keep your brain active. It is extremely wearing. The entire democratic public, democratic mass organizations, and socialists must raise their voices and take action against this.”
Call on bar associations to take action
Incesu announced that they will apply to the Constitutional Court for Serkan Onur Yilmaz’s release under the heading of violation of the right to life and will also file criminal complaints against the execution prosecutor and doctors.
He also urged bar associations to take action regarding Pit-type Prisons and said: “Bar associations must step in regarding Pit-type Prisons. Let them carry out inspections in these isolation prisons where the right to social interaction is denied, where there is no ventilation, and where even a pencil cannot pass through the barred windows. The ministry should take them on tours. In the past, they organized tours of Type F prisons. One month earlier, we spoke to both the Union of Turkish Bar Associations and local bar associations about this matter and asked for their assessments. No response has come yet. They must take action without delay.”