Efforts to resolve the Kurdish question gained new momentum after the parliamentary commission established for this purpose met with Abdullah Öcalan on Imralı Island, raising hopes for a renewed peace process. Citizens who are now waiting for concrete steps to follow the meeting continue to call for an end to injustices both inside and outside the prisons.
Relatives of prisoners, who have urged the authorities to take legal steps since the meeting, emphasise that releasing ill inmates and those whose release has been postponed would strengthen the public’s sense of hope.
Relatives and Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Şırnak (Şirnex) MP Newroz Uysal stressed that “peace must be visible in every sphere of life” and pointed to the need for ongoing violations in prisons to come to an end.
Despite these calls, the only move made by the Ministry of Justice so far has been to increase the number of prisons, including the expansion of pit-type facilities.
Sulhiye Saruhan, a relative of a prisoner, urged authorities to end these practices and underlined that the issue is not limited to prisons alone. She said violations continue across many areas of life and noted that prisoners and their families are still subjected to strip-searching and various forms of pressure. Saruhan also emphasised the need to abolish committees that effectively act as courts.
The Ministry of Justice must not remain silent
Sulhiye Saruhan stated that ill prisoners must be released and the Prison Administration and Observation Boards should be abolished. She said, “Everything continues exactly as before, and this process must also reach the prisons. Conditions for the prisoners must improve. If we are to trust what is being said, they need to take a concrete step. We have to raise our voices together with the prisoners against these pressures. Their eyes are on the outside right now. We are their voice, and we must amplify it. The Ministry of Justice should hear this voice. If they speak of a solution, then they must ensure that solution is realised in every area.”
Let them build peace through humane steps
Abdulvahap Burak, whose daughter and son are both ill prisoners, said that the current process shows signs of progress only outside the prisons and has yet to bring any change inside.
He noted that prisoners repeatedly raise this concern and added, “My son is currently held in a single cell. He cannot go to the canteen, cannot exercise, and cannot see his friends. My daughter is also an ill prisoner. Because my son received a sentence, we are denied both phone calls and open visits. Both of my children are sick, yet no one is taking responsibility for them. We are facing a very difficult and exhausting period.
Beyond the ill prisoners, even people who have completed their sentences are not being released. This is what needs to be spoken about most urgently. Peace cannot be built on steps like these. The moment they speak of peace, the pressure inside the prisons increases. As long as ill prisoners are denied treatment, no one can talk about humanity.
Our only demand is for this process to move forward quickly and for concrete steps to be taken. They do not even allow me to send a saz (a traditional long-necked lute) to my son. The easing we see outside must reflect inside the prisons as well.”
The state is pursuing a policy of vengeance through prisoners
DEM Party Şırnak MP Newroz Uysal said that the practices targeting political prisoners in Turkey’s prisons reflect the state’s broader policy of maintaining deadlock on the Kurdish question.
Uysal noted the recent escalation in sentence extensions, the barriers to medical treatment and the increasingly harsh measures imposed on prisoners who have been incarcerated for many years and added, “The state is pursuing a policy of vengeance through prisoners. The overcrowding in prisons, the way prisoners are treated and the entirety of the judicial processes all form part of a system that carries not only legal but also political messages.”
Prisoners must not be treated as bargaining chips
Newroz Uysal noted that discussions on peace and a democratic solution have resurfaced over the past year, yet no meaningful change has been reflected in prison policies. Uysal said, “Despite the possibility of a renewed solution process, we see no sign of easing in the state’s approach inside the prisons. This stance is a clear indication of the insistence on maintaining deadlock. The state is delaying legal steps and continues its repressive attitude toward prisons. Today, political prisoners are effectively being held in a hostage-like position. Yet the rights of prisoners can never be subjected to bargaining. This is a fundamental issue of human rights and the rule of law.”
The legal crisis must come to an end
Newroz Uysal said that the first step toward any solution is a return to the rule of law. Uysal also said, “The state must overcome the legal crisis it is experiencing. Even basic compliance with the Constitution and international conventions would resolve many of the problems inside the prisons, beginning with the prisoners’ right to hope. We will continue this struggle until prisons are no longer used as a tool to sustain the deadlock in the Kurdish question.”