The Prison Administration and Observation Board continues to delay the release of prisoners on arbitrary grounds. Since the board became operational, the release of nearly four thousand political prisoners has been postponed on arbitrary and unlawful pretexts. In addition to imposing so-called “remorse,” prisoners are questioned about every aspect of their lives, including the ward they stay in, the water they drink, and the protests they have participated in. As this practice has become systematic, both prisoners and their families are demanding that it be abolished.
Rozerin Kalkan, who has been imprisoned since 2016 and whose release has been postponed for two years, is not being released on the grounds of letters sent to her but never delivered. Set to appear before the board again in February, Kalkan drew attention to this unlawfulness in a message sent through her family. Her mother, Şerife Kalkan, also called for her daughter’s immediate release.
Her release delayed for 22 months
On 11 August 2016, Rozerin Kalkan was detained in Mardin (Mêrdîn), where she was subjected to torture. After being held in police custody for days, she was brought before a court and formally arrested. Following her imprisonment, Kalkan was kept in solitary confinement for months, during which she developed numerous health problems. After applications were filed, her transfer request was accepted, and she was sent to Şakran Women’s Closed Prison. After being placed in a ward there, Kalkan was first brought before the board in April 2024. During the hearing, she was questioned about the protests she had participated in, hunger strikes, the ward she stayed in, and the definition of her alleged offence. At this first hearing, her release was postponed for eleven months. Citing “staying in a partisan ward” and “being active within the organisation” as grounds, the board ruled to delay her release. Kalkan was summoned before the board again last March. Refusing to appear on the grounds that the same questions would once again be posed, her release was postponed for a second time, again by eleven months, bringing the total delay to twenty-two months.
Boards raise the bar of questioning: How do you perceive crime and the criminal?
Appeals filed by both Rozerin Kalkan and her lawyer against the postponements have yielded no results. Among the grounds cited for the delays, letters sent to Kalkan but never delivered to her were treated as elements of a crime on the claim that they “motivate illegal organisation’s members.” Protesting these decisions, Kalkan is set to appear before the board again in February.