As known to the public, Abdullah Öcalan, who has been convicted in İmralı Prison, has not been able to contact his family and lawyers since April 2015. In order to urge the authorities to lift this isolation, the co-chair of DTK (Democratic Society Congress) and HDP deputy Leyla Güven started a hunger strike on 8th November 2018, which has been lasting for 96 days.
The demand Leyla Güven declared was adopted by many prisoners as just and legitimate, and they started indefinite-rotating hunger strikes as well on 27th November 2018, which later turned into indefinite, non-rotating hunger strikes on 16th December.
Today (11/02/2019) indefinite, non-rotating number of hunger strikers in prisons of Turkey has reached to 313 people.
The first group of 41 people, who started the hunger strike on 16 December 2018, are on the 58th day of their actions.
In order to end the hunger strikes, the government and the authorities have not taken any steps that could fulfil the demands of the activists and remove the isolation. For this reason, the number of indefinite and irreversible hunger strikers is increasing day by day.
The health conditions of Leyla Güven and the prisoners in the first group are approaching the critical phase as of the day arrived.
As is known, in case of long-term hunger there are negative effects on all systems in the human body. With the prolonged fasting, the immune system is weakened, and the hunger strike activists could become susceptible to infections, which has the capacity to cause death after multiple organ failure.
With the hunger strikes lengthening out, it is known that hunger strikers may develop severe weight loss, exhaustion, fatigue, difficulty in walking, visual disturbances, low blood pressure, head, joint and muscle aches, nausea-vomiting, insomnia, and hypersensitivity to sound and noise. Also, as the process continues for longer periods, on the onset of vomiting after the ingestion of the liquid and salt, dehydration may result in a number of destructive health consequences.
The dignity of those who remain in prisons, their rights to life and health, are incumbent on the State. At any stage of hunger strikes, probable prohibition of sugar, salt and vitamins might be considered as torture and ill-treatment. All hunger strike activists must be provided with 5 large glasses of water / liquid, 2 teaspoons (2 g) of salt, 5 tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of carbonate and complex vitamin B preparations containing 500 mg of vitamin, all of which are crucial for survival. In the case of limiting these substances which should be taken as the least, they will cause permanent damage or severe consequences which may result in death, as experienced in hunger strikes in the past years.
For this reason, regular follow-up by health-care workers in accordance with the strikers’ consent, providing water, salt, sugar and B vitamins they need, having their attendants (companions) when they cannot care for themselves, not being kept in isolation, avoiding the use of force will prevent the emergence of additional health problems. The intake of liquid, vitamin B, salt, sugar and carbonate is vital in hunger strikes as well as critical for the prevention of potential permanent brain damage after the end of the action.
Hunger strikes are often acts of a protest during the times in which the principles of democratic law do not work, and the ways in which self-expression is suppressed. Therefore, the main purpose of the hunger strike action is not death. The person consciously rejects the food. However, it is based on the continuation of daily intake of water, salt and sugar in certain amounts. In addition, in order to prevent permanent neurological damage when the hunger strike is terminated, it is necessary to take Vitamin B.
In fact, the World Medical Assembly defined a hunger striker in the 1991 Declaration of Malta as “a mentally competent person who has indicated that he has decided to embark on a hunger strike and has refused to take food and/or fluids for a significant interval.”
We, as lawyers, human rights defenders and representatives of health organizations, want to emphasize that all prisoners who use hunger strike action must be behaved with necessary sensitivity to protect the rights of life, especially the right to health.
The Government must evaluate the demand of hunger strikers without turning the process into a more dangerous point. As of today, the 313 hunger strikers have only one demand: the removal of absolute isolation. The responsibility for fulfilling this demand is of the Government. The Government will be responsible for the painful consequences regarding the prisoners' right to health and life. Therefore, first of all, the Ministry of Justice and relevant institutions should act as soon as possible.
In İmralı High Security Prison, Abdullah Öcalan has not been able to see his lawyers even once since 27th July 2011; since then he was able to see his brother just for a brief time on 11th September 2016 and 12th January 2019. In the prison where all means of communication were prohibited, no letter sent by his family and lawyers could be answered. The applications were blocked for years under cover of "broken ship" and "weather-related cancellations" but after the attempted coup of 15 July, all appeals were rejected unlawfully by the Office of Judge of Execution. Lawyer and family visits were prohibited with the rulings dated 21.07.2016, 02.03.2018 and 04.09.2018. With the decision of the disciplinary board as of 14.09.2018, family visits were banned for another 3-month.
The lawyers filed criminal complaints about the violations that have occurred due to all these experiences. Reporting was made to the Prosecutor's Office, Ministry, CPT, The Constitutional Court, ECtHR. However, the conditions of isolation have continued to worsen.
It is called the Imrali Execution Regime; the isolation imposed on Abdullah Öcalan and three prisoners is contrary to the Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Law on the Execution of Sentences and Security Measures.
Again, the execution regime in İmralı Prison is against the principle of Equality, which is embodied in the Constitution, and Article 90 of the Constitution, which refers to international conventions in the context of the principles of the rule of law and fundamental rights and freedoms.
The convicted, as referred to in Article 3 of the ECHR, cannot be subjected to an inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment, regardless of the penalty, nor can they be imprisoned against the provisions of the Convention’s Article 5 / 1.
As per article 2 of Law No. 5275 on the Execution of Sentences and Security Measures; during the execution of the Penal and Security measures, cruel, inhuman, degrading and degrading acts cannot be carried out. In the same article, it has been legislated that implementation will be made without discrimination in terms of race, language, religion, sect, nationality, colour, gender or social origin, political or other ideas or thoughts, and other social status.
Therefore, it is seen that absolute isolation applied in İmralı Prison has no legal basis, there is an illegal execution system; it is managed and maintained by the Administrative Structure of the State and in a security-oriented point of view.
In conclusion,
In the case of the act of hunger strike of the prisoners, the Government must take the necessary measures and take action to consider the demands before any deaths occur. We call upon the Ministry of Justice, national and international law and human rights institutions to be sensitive in order to approach the problem on the basis of fundamental rights and freedoms and to make the demands resolved accordingly.
The PLATFORM FOR MONITORING HUNGER-STRIKES
Diyarbakır Bar Association
Human Rights Association, Diyarbakır Branch
Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, Diyarbakır Office
Medical Chamber of Diyarbakır
Association of Lawyers for Freedom
OUR REPORT AND ASSESSMENT ON THE VIOLATIONS AGAINST HUNGER STRIKERS AND THEIR MEDICAL CONDITIONS
Leyla Güven:
As known by the public, when the People's Democratic Party Hakkâri Deputy Leyla Güven was in prison, she sent a request through her lawyers to the Diyarbakır Medical Chamber for a medical examination by an independent medical team. As it is known, after our appeals were submitted to the Ministry of Justice, she was not allowed to have the necessary examination in the prison. Upon her being released from the prison, a new application was made to the Chamber by his lawyers and she was visited by a team of physicians and informed about the potential consequences of hunger strike. She had asked for medical examination to be held at a later date.
Recently, Leyla Güven was visited by Turkish Medical Association’s medical team established to monitor the hunger strikes. In order to determine the possible changes in the body during the prolonged fasting and the possible risks in terms of health, the team examined her and informed about her situation. First of all, we would like to express that we cannot share details with the public due to the confidentiality of the patient. It is important to note that the whole process was within the utmost care and ethics required by the medical profession.
We will be able to share some observational information and the findings within the consent of Leyla Güven. We can say that Leyla Güven has difficulty in carrying out her daily routines by herself. The reduction in mobility, difficulty in walking without support, and even fatigue were remarkable during the conversation. It can be stated that the necessary amount of fluid was being taken although she had a hard time doing it. Again, it can be said that vitamin B1 has been taken with sufficient dose as stated in the “the physician’s attitude towards hunger strike activists” in accordance with the Malta Declaration by the World Medical Assembly. It can be said that some minerals are taken from glucose-salt-carbonate in the liquid. However, it can be stated that not all of the minerals necessary for the maintenance of life are taken. It was observed that she suffers from significant weight loss due to not taking nutritious foods. She was informed about the potential impacts of not taking other vitamins required for the body and potential negative consequences for health and it was confirmed that Leyla Güven knew all these risks.
She had intense complaints in the gastrointestinal tract due to malnutrition. Especially the abdominal cramps she experienced during the day were worrying. She was told that in the following days, in case of not taking the basal needs, her condition would be worse. In this regard, the hunger strike activist Leyla Güven stated she was aware of the consequences. No signs of infection were found. Due to the restriction of home visits and the measures taken, it was observed that the risks were reduced. However, she was told that these measures might be inadequate for the immune system, and Leyla Güven was confirmed to be aware of this. Quicker mental fatigue and forgetting recent information were more significant complaints compared to the previous visit. The intolerance of light, continuous headaches, and blurred vision were aggravated in the last week. Prolonged cramps and extensive pain in the musculoskeletal system were thought to be associated with deficiencies in the intake of minerals and vitamins, and this information was shared with Leyla Güven. Daily blood pressure, fever and pulse were checked; blood pressure was observed to be low.
She was informed about blood test but she did not give consent for a laboratory test. It was planned to carry out daily monitoring and examinations at intervals upon her request and with her consent.
Diyarbakır Type E;
Three women prisoners who had started a strike on December 16, 2018 were firstly exposed to disciplinary proceedings. Although they reached the 58th day of the hunger strike, they have not yet been given carbonate.
Diyarbakır Type D;
There are 5 people who started the strike in this prison on 16th December. On the day they started a hunger strike action, a disciplinary investigation was opened by the administration and they were banned from some social activities. The prisoners were put in the same room and there was a companion. Health checks are not performed regularly because they do not go to the infirmary. Gingival bleeding and intra-oral wounds have occurred in some of the prisoners. Weight and blood pressure checks are done by health personnel. Weight loss is between 8 and 11.5 KGs.
Diyarbakır No 1 Type T;
As of December 26, 2018, 5 people started an indefinite, non-rotating hunger strike. Weight and blood pressure measurements are carried out regularly, but health monitoring is conducted irregularly. Since they were convicted prisoners, we were not allowed to interview them but we were able to interview other prisoners in their room.
Sanliurfa No.1 and No 2 Type T Closed Penitentiary Institution;
On January 5, 2019, 6 prisoners in Type T no. 2 started an indefinite, non-rotating hunger strike. On January 6, 2019, 5 prisoners in T Type Closed Prison No. 1 started an indefinite and non-rotating hunger strike. Prisoners are given vitamins B1; however, these vitamins are not sufficient. Because of the absence of a permanent physician in the infirmary, physician control is done every 2 or 3-days and as a different physician examines them each time, they do not care of the hunger strikers properly.
A total of 12 prisoners went on strike in groups in the High Security Prisons No. 1 and No. 2 in the Elazığ Penitentiary Institution Campus.
No 1 High Security Penitentiary Institution;
On 16 December 2018, 3 prisoners and on 5 January 2019 3 more prisoner embarked upon hunger strike. The first thing the prison administration did was to conduct a disciplinary proceeding against them. They have been banned from social activities. The second group of three prisoners who started the hunger strike 20 days after the first group of hunger strikers were put together in the same room. They were taken to the section where there were other criminal groups for 7 days. The hunger strikers stay in a room for 3 people and do not have a companion. For a long period of time, the basic needs (Salt, Sugar, etc.) were either not provided or provided irregularly. Only lemons were given apart from salt and sugar and no additional fluids that strikers requested were provided. The group who started their strike on December 16th were able to get vitamin B after the 25th day, and it was irregular. However, for the last 15-20 days (as of 08.02.2019), demands for vitamins and some additional liquids have been met regularly.
No. 2 High Security Penitentiary Institution;
On 26 December 2018, 3 prisoners began this strike. Then, another prisoner who had already started hunger strike on 16 December 2018, with 5 prisoners in the Patnos L type, was transferred here. Two hunger strikers were placed in one room and one person was kept in a single cell. Then, the prisoner, who was brought from Patnos, was kept separate in a single cell. Three of the prisoners were taken to the same room after the attempts by our Platform and the initiatives of the private lawyers of the prisoners. However, from time to time, the administration also took some of the hunger strikers into single cells and put pressure on them to quit the strike. The prisoner Ahmet TEKİN, who began strike on 26th December, was kept alone in a single cell until 05.02.2019 and then put into the same room with Mahsum Ceylan who started his strike on 05.02.2019. Reşit Teymur, who started the strike on 04.02.2019, is the only one in the cell. There are still no companions to the prisoners. The physician of the institution rejects the requests for a companion by saying that he would not give the companion permission until their situations become critical. The prisoners on the strike have not been fully provided with substances and additional liquid. Only salt, sugar and lemon were given for a long time. Weight and blood pressure controls were performed irregularly. They were given vitamin B1 after the 20th day. Prisoners have weight losses of between 10 and 12.5 KGs.
Malatya Type E Penitentiary Institution;
4 prisoners have been on hunger strike since 5 January 2019. They take salt and sugar, but not vitamins. Some health problems and sleep disorder have begun to arise.
Şırnak T type Penitentiary Institution;
There have been 6 prisoners on strike, 3 of them since January 16, 2019, and another group of 3 since January 31, 2019. It was reported during the interviews with prisoners that regular weight and blood pressure checks were conducted.
The PLATFORM FOR MONITORING HUNGER-STRIKES
Diyarbakır Bar Association
Human Rights Association, Diyarbakır Branch
Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, Diyarbakır Office
Medical Chamber of Diyarbakır
Association of Lawyers for Freedom