ISTANBUL - Stating that long-term isolation constitutes "torture" and drawing attention to the hunger strike action of the prisoners, Prof. Dr. Ümit Biçer said: "The issue should be addressed in a framework where the different legal systems are not put into effect."

 

PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held in İmralı Island Prison for 25 years, has not been heard from for 33 months because his family and lawyer visits are not allowed. Öcalan, whose communication rights such as letters and telephones are also blocked, is under severe isolation conditions.

 

Forensic Medicine Specialist Prof. Dr. Ümit Biçer, who is a Board Member of the Turkish Human Rights Foundation (TIHV), evaluated the absolute isolation imposed in İmralı in violation of domestic law and international agreements.  

 

Stating that isolation limits social relations and negatively affects human health physically and spiritually, Biçer underlined that in the regulations made for prisoners in international agreements, isolation should be applied very limitedly and should not be used unless necessary.

 

Drawing attention to such decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), Biçer said: "Long-term isolation of a person is described as 'torture and ill-treatment' in the ECtHR decisions. The Mandela Rules describe the effects of isolation practices exceeding 15 days as 'torture', drawing attention to the effects that violate human dignity, isolate people and harm their health; moreover, a certain period of time has been set for the isolation period during the day. According to the Mandela Rules, this period should not exceed 22 hours. Any treatment that goes beyond 22 hours is considered torture and ill-treatment."

 

TORTURE AND MAL-TREATMENT

 

Stating that the severe isolation conditions applied in Turkish prisons exceed the period specified in the Mandela Rules, Biçer said: "Such implementations are legally unacceptable and are considered within the scope of torture. The physical deteriorating effects on human health have been detected due to the lack of stimulation of the person under medical isolation. The isolation is not considered as a disciplinary implementation in prisons, but as torture and ill-treatment. A person held in prison should be evaluated independently of the crime he is accused. The violation decisions given by the ECHR regarding İmralı Prison.

 

Underlining that depriving people imprisoned in prison of their basic rights, such as establishing human relations, communicating with their families and receiving news from the outside world, will basically lead to the "destruction of people" and detrimental effects on their health, Biçer said: "Deprivation of freedom is already a punishment in itself. It has been stated in the ECtHR decisions and international conventions that the application of this punishment in different ways causes health problems in people and that this is a human rights violation."

 

TIME AND PLACE CONDITIONS

 

Drawing attention that prisons have some space effects on the person, Biçer said: “The physical characteristics of the prison environment and the characteristics of the location of the room cause some effects. These effects should be considered together with the issue of how the prisoner receives news from the outside and how he establishes a connection with it. When a prisoner is held on an island or somewhere else, the prisoner may feel more likely to get out, or the prisoner may have more problems about it. But the real critical point here is the characteristics of the time and place where the personer is held, the existence of human contact, relationships with his family, social environment and other prisoners because when the prisoner is held in a closed place and the connection of the prisoner with the outside is completely cut off, it may be different at first whether the place the prisoner is in is an island or another place, but the gradual decrease in stimuli and the blurring of the issue depends on how the prisoner is aware of the outside world, depending on the interventions the prisoner is  exposed to the sounds and images inside. After a while, the relationship of the prisoner with the world outside will be limited."

 

Prof. Ümit Biçer also focused on the hunger strikes that started on November 27 for Abdullah Öcalan in Turkey and Kurdistan prisons.

 

'HUNGER STRIKE IS A METHOD USED AS A LAST SOLUTION'

 

Stating that hunger strikes are a last solution method used by people deprived of their freedom in prisons to fulfill their demands, Biçer said: "There have been hunger strikes in prisons many times in the past. The critical thing is that no solution has been created for the reasons that push people to go on hunger strike. The demands regarding the hunger strikes will be resolved through negotiations and by taking some steps. In order for all kinds of issues to be resolved, negotiation paths must be open. It needs to be handled within a framework that respects human dignity and values, and does not introduce different punishment practices or introduce different legal systems."

 

'THE CONCRETE STEPS MUST BE TAKEN'

 

Stating that prisoners have gone on hunger strikes with the same demands over the years due to the fact that the rights violations in prisons have not been resolved, Biçer said: "The political power has not taken permanent and healthy steps regarding the violations related to prisons. The failure to take these steps leads to hunger strikes. This is an issue that can be solved and the government needs to take concrete steps regarding prisons. It is necessary to quickly negotiate and bring appropriate solutions, taking into account the demands. The rights violations experienced by people held in prisons today unfortunately show that no steps have been taken."

 

MA / Esra Solin Dal