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Prison Insider Türkiye
OVERVIEW
A report by Prison Insider has revealed Türkiye has the highest incarceration rate and the largest prison population of all Council of Europe member States as of 2024.
Türkiye ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) in 1988 and prohibited torture in its Constitution and the Turkish Penal Code (TPC). However, arbitrariness, the absence of independent monitoring and prevention mechanisms and willful negligence that have become quite common at various levels of the penal system.
ISSUES FACED BY PRISONERS
Monitoring bodies, civil society, media and international organisations and institutions have widely documented the cases of torture and ill-treatment being experienced by Turkish prisoners. The Insan Hakları Derneği (Human Rights Association) reported 172 cases of torture and ill-treatment in Turkish prisons
They have found that the fundamental rights available to prisoners, as defined by national law, are arbitrarily withdrawn, obstructed or poorly enforced by authorities. For example, access to information inside prisons is tightly controlled.The authorities read all letters and listen to all telephone calls. These forms of communication, along with visits, can be restricted without reason.
CORRESPONDENCE RIGHTS
In 2021, Civil Society in the Penal System Association reported that phone card fees increased for Turkish prisoners, particularly impacting impoverished prisoners.
In 2022, The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Türkiye had violated the correspondence and family rights of prisoners by denying them permission to receive visits from their school-age children and to make telephone calls at the weekends. The ECHR also found Türkiye particularly violated the rights of prisoners who speak other languages while making phone calls. Prisoners speaking in Kurdish often see their phone calls disconnected.
Prisoners sentenced for life aggravated imprisonment are particularly deprived of their communicative rights in Türkiye. Some consider their sentence to be a form of perpetual torture. Article 74 of the Regulation Management of Penal Institutions and the Enforcement of Sentences and Security Measures, entitles prisoners to video calls and phone calls from their spouse, guardian, descendants and siblings. These rights are denied to prisoners sentenced for life aggravated imprisonment.
For a country profile of prisons in Türkiye, visit this comprehensive overview of the living conditions of Turkish prisoners and the systematic issues they face due to the negligence of authorities.
For a qualitative investigation of the widespread violations of the rights of Turkish prisoners, visit this narrative inquiry of Intellectual crimes and serious violation of human rights in Turkey. For information about the lack of rehabilitative and educational services within Turkish Prison Libraries, refer to this investigative national survey.