In Turkey, the government’s practice of disregarding Constitutional Court (AYM) rulings has extended to prison administrations. The latest example is taking place at Marmara No. 6 L-Type Prison. Despite the Constitutional Court ruling that the continuous camera surveillance of prison wards and common areas constitutes a violation of rights, political prisoners have begun a hunger strike in protest of the prison administration’s insistence on maintaining the practice. Başak Kavruker, the fiancée of prisoner Oktay Kelebek, spoke about the situation. She noted that Kelebek, who has been on an indefinite hunger strike for 33 days against the surveillance practice, has also been arbitrarily denied sugar and herbal tea by the prison administration.
‘Prison administrations also ignore the Constitutional Court’s ruling on rights violations’
Başak Kavruker said that wards in Marmara (Silivri) Prison are monitored 24/7: “The surveillance extends to sleeping areas, the places where they eat, and even to the doors of the toilets. This is a clear violation of privacy and amounts to harassment.” She explained that DEM Party MP and HDK co-spokesperson Meral Danış Beştaş had applied to the Constitutional Court on this issue in 2016, and that the Court ruled such surveillance to be a violation of private life. Despite this ruling, Marmara Prison continues the practice arbitrarily.
Kavruker said that her boyfriend, Kelebek, and many other political prisoners went on hunger strike against this inhumane practice. “Generally, Marmara No. 6 L-Type Prison holds criminal prisoners, and they do not object to the camera surveillance. But after political prisoners were transferred there over the past year, protests began. Alongside Oktay, members of ESP who were exiled to the Marmara L-Type Prison also started a hunger strike against this practice, though they are doing it on a rotating basis.”
‘He lost 15 kilos in 33 days’
Başak Kavruker, who last visited Kelebek on 8 April 2026, said his health condition is worsening. She emphasized that he has been losing weight rapidly: “Oktay has been on hunger strike for 33 days and during this period he has lost 15 kilograms.
Oktay had previously carried out a 181-day hunger strike in 2024 against isolation conditions in Buca Kuyu-Type Prison. Shortly after being released on 20 March 2025, he was re-arrested on 14 October 2025 based on statements from drug gangs he had fought against, and he then began another indefinite hunger strike against the camera surveillance practice. Turkish Medical Association reports clearly state that after long hunger strikes the body needs about 2.5 to 3 years to recover. But Oktay was arrested again with what he says is a fabricated case before he had even recovered, and shortly after undergoing gallbladder surgery. When I last saw him, he had become extremely weak, and there were thrush infections and deep cracks on his tongue.”
‘Confession from the chief warden: We will not sell sugar or herbal tea to hunger strikers’
Başak Kavruker said that, since the beginning of the hunger strike, the prison administration has not provided Kelebek with sugar or herbal tea: “Normally, during hunger strikes, soft holiday candies are eaten because cube sugar causes nausea, and herbal tea is consumed. These are sold in prison canteens. However, they are refusing to provide them arbitrarily. I say arbitrarily because two days ago the chief warden of Marmara No. 6 L-Type Prison openly told Oktay: ‘We will not sell sugar or herbal tea to those on hunger strike.’ When Oktay asked the reason, the warden replied: ‘There are cameras in shopping malls and on the streets, and that’s not a problem—you don’t ask for them to be removed.’ Oktay answered him: ‘I don’t live in a shopping mall or on the street for 24 hours. But I live here 24 hours a day.’ They are effectively turning imprisonment itself into torture.”
Kavruker also said that she has filed a criminal complaint against the Marmara No. 6 L-Type Prison administration for arbitrarily denying sugar and herbal tea. She announced that she had called on people through her X account to send holiday candies and herbal tea to the prison by mail and urged everyone to show solidarity.
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