Diyarbakır Prison

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The Diyarbakır Prison ( Turkish Diyarbakır Cezaevi , Kurdish Zîndana Amedê ) is a Turkish prison in the southeast Anatolian city ​​of Diyarbakır . The British daily newspaper The Times named the prison one of the "ten most notorious prisons in the world". Due to the brutal torture methods , the prison was given the name "Hell of Diyarbakir" (tr: Diyarbakır cehennemi ) or "Hell No. 5". The number 5 indicates that it is the fifth prison in Diyarbakir.

The prison was built in 1980 by the Turkish Ministry of Justice and on September 12, 1980, on the day of the military coup in Turkey , handed over to the military administration and converted into a military prison under martial law ( Turkish Sıkıyönetim Askeri Cezaevi ). On May 8, 1988, control of the prison was returned to the Justice Department . Particularly in the early 1980s (1980–1984), also known as the “period of barbarism” (tr: vahşet dönemi ), inmates were subjected to horrific torture practices.

The Type E prison had a capacity of 744 inmates. The type D prison was designed exclusively for political prisoners and had a capacity of 688 prisoners. Between 6,000 and 15,000 people were detained during the 1980s.

history

In the 19th century the Diyarbakir prison was already notorious in the Ottoman Empire as a place of brutal and feared punishment for political prisoners and revolting members of the Balkan region .

The early 1980s

After the military coup in Turkey in 1980 , thousands of arrests, tortures and executions occurred . 30,000 people were arrested in the first four months. In the years that followed, Amnesty International received several thousand allegations of torture and recorded more than 100 deaths as a result of torture. The Diyarbakir prison became a symbol of this period.

Known former occupants, mainly Kurds, are the MPs Ahmet Türk , the former mayor of Diyarbakir , Mehdi Zana , the writer Mehmed Uzun , Musa Anter and Orhan Miroğlu , the human Şerafettin Kaya , deputy leader of the Peace and Democracy Party gültan kışanak , the PKK -Cofounder Sakine Cansız , as well as Bedii Tan, the father of Ahmet Altan , who died in prison as a result of torture.

Torture methods

The most common torture methods included: severe systematic beatings , falaka , hanging on stakes , electric shocks (special electrodes were attached to the genitals), bastinado , sexual torture through rectal penetration with clubs, rape, forcing prisoners to rape each other, beating, humiliation, urinating on each other, bathing in the feces of prisoners (called " disco " by the guards ), the ban on communicating in Kurdish , pulling out their hair, undressing, forcing the inmates to remain in stressful positions or Standing for long periods of time, blindfolding and hosing down with water, solitary confinement , continuous uninterrupted intimidation and observation, death threats, asphyxia and mock executions , the order to salute the German Shepherd Dog of the prison director Yıldıran named "Jo", the training of the dog, genitals of the Bite prisoners. Deprivation of sleep, food and water for long periods of time, exercise under extreme temperatures, squeezing, pressing and stretching of body parts and genitals, stacking naked inmates on top of one another, burning with cigarettes and tearing out healthy nails and teeth.

Mehdi Zana, who spent eleven years in Diyarbakir prison, describes in his book the "reception" of new prisoners:

“Yıldıran had his formal ceremony when a new prisoner was brought in and he welcomed him in his own way by ordering the sergeant: 'Take the man here and let him bathe. Then take him to his cell. He is my guest. ' That was the code. Almost 20 guards accompanied the inmate. First he got a kind of welcome beating, then he was dragged unconscious into the 'bathroom', a bathtub filled with feces in which the inmate had to stay for hours. The businessman Selim Dindar described the conditions in the prison with the words: Before we were arrested, we thought that the torture was taking place during interrogation and that the cells in the prison were safe. But in Diyarbakir prison we longed for the torture chambers of interrogation. "

Among the numerous reports from inmates about torture and prison conditions, only a few reports from female prisoners who were housed in a separate wing are found. Nuran Çamlı Maraşlı describes the conditions in the women's wing as follows: “We were 75 women in a section intended for 25 inmates. As women we are not equal to men, but in Diyarbakir dungeon we were equal to men in terms of torture, isolation, military drill, etc. For years in prison we did what soldiers do in their barracks. ”Prisoner Yıldız Aktaş was imprisoned and tortured at the age of twelve, making her the youngest inmate in the prison.

Deaths

From 1981–1984 there are known 34 deaths, including 20 deaths from severe torture, 5 deaths from hunger strikes , 5 deaths from self-immolation and 4 deaths from suicide by hanging . On May 17, 1982, the four inmates Mahmut Zengin, Eşref Anyık, Ferhat Kurtay and Necmi Öner covered themselves with newspaper and oil paint and burned themselves standing shoulder to shoulder in their cell with the shouts “Down with torture! No more oppression! ”. This made them important people in the collective memory of the Kurds and the PKK venerated them as martyrs. Also Mazlum Doğan is one of them, he put on 21 March 1982 the Kurdish New Year Newroz , his cell on fire and then hanged himself in protest against the detention conditions.

The deaths were not limited to members of the PKK. Kurds from different political camps, human rights activists, academics and students were victims of the detention conditions and torture. Among them Necmettin Büyükkaya, whose political career began in the Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP) . In 1969 he became chairman of Devrimci Doğu Kültür Ocakları and later he joined the Democratic Party of Kurdistan-Turkey (KDP-Bakur) . Remzi Aytürk was a member of the Kurdish party Rizgarî (German: Liberation). Yılmaz Demir was imprisoned for membership in the forerunner movement of the Kurdistan Socialist Party (PSK) . İsmail Kıran and Orhan Keskin were members of the Devrimci Yol .

The following inmates died from 1981 to 1984:

First name Surname date of death Cause of death
Ali Erek April 20, 1981 Hunger strike
Abdurrahman Çeçen April 27, 1981 torture
Ali Saribal November 13, 1981 torture
İbiş Ural December 27, 1981 torture
Cemal Kılıç February 23, 1982 torture
Önder Demirok 3rd August 1982 torture
Mazlum Dogan March 21, 1982 Suicide in protest of the torture
Kenan Çiftçi April 21, 1982 torture
Mahmut Zengin May 17, 1982 Self-immolation
Eşref Anyık May 17, 1982 Self-immolation
Ferhat Kutay May 17, 1982 Self-immolation
Necmi Öner May 17, 1982 Self-immolation
Mehmet Ali Eraslan June 9, 1982 beaten to death
Bedii Tan June 14, 1982 beaten to death
Aziz Özbay 23rd August 1982 torture
Kemal Pir September 7, 1982 Hunger strike
Mehmet Hayri Durmuş September 12, 1982 Hunger strike
Akif Yılmaz September 15, 1982 Hunger strike
Ali Çiçek 17th September 1982 Hunger strike
Seyithan Sak November 21, 1982 beaten to death
Aziz Büyükertaç 22nd December 1982 torture
Ramazan Yayan January 13, 1983 beaten to death
Mehmet Emin Akpınar January 25, 1983 beaten to death
Medet Özbadem May 20, 1983 beaten to death
İsmet Kıran November 1, 1983 torture
Necmettin Buyukkaya January 23, 1984 beaten to death
Remzi Aytürk January 28, 1984 Suicide
Cemal Arat March 2, 1984 Hunger strike
Orhan Keskin 5th May 1984 Hunger strike
Halil Ibrahim Baturalp April 27, 1984 beaten to death
Mehmet Kalkan June 14, 1987 died during interrogation
Yılmaz Demir January 1984 Suicide
Huseyin Yuce May 1984 beaten to death

The "death fast" 1982

On July 14, 1982 PKK members Kemal Pir , Mehmet Hayri Durmuş , Ali Çiçek and Akif Yılmaz waived any petitions at their trial. Hayri Durmuş stated: “We are now going on a life and death hunger strike to protest the atrocities in Prison No. 5.” This date has since been referred to by the PKK as “the death fast of July 14th” or “the resistance of the July 14th ”and commemorated annually. Kemal Pir, Mehmet Hayri Durmuş, Akif Yilmaz and Ali Cicek died between the 55th and 67th day of the hunger strike. The hunger strike was ended when the prison authorities agreed to stop the torture. Security chief Yıldıran was subsequently replaced, but the torture practices continued.

The 1996 incident

On September 24, 1996, special forces, the Jandarma, and the prison guards stormed Diyarbakir Prison, killing 14 inmates and injuring 46 others. The prisoners Erkan Hakan Perişan, Cemal Çam, Hakkı Tekin, Ahmet Çelik, Edip Direkçi, Mehmet Nimet Çakmak, Rıdvan Bulut, Mehmet Kadri Gümüş, Kadri Demir and Mehmet Aslan were killed. The cause of the storm is unclear according to different reports. The Turkish media mostly reproduced the official press releases from the authorities. Some media reported a prison riot, while others reported an attempt by inmates to visit the prison's women's section. The commission of inquiry came to the conclusion that "parts of the government knew about the action in advance and were involved in its implementation".

Dr. Necdet İpekyüz, Secretary of the Diyarbakir Medical Society, summarized:

“Of the 33 victims, 10 were dead. Ten of the injured were treated at Diyarbakir Hospital and another 13 were transferred to Gaziantep Hospital. All deaths were the result of head injuries. On the day of the incident, 2 prison guards visited the hospital at 10:00 am. You were bruised very easily. The doctors on duty at the hospital did not know why the guards were sent to the hospital for such minor injuries. Shortly before the attack on the inmates, the hospital staff received a call from the district attorney. The staff were instructed to prepare for a large number of injured inmates. "

Investigation into the incident

The incident was examined by different groups and the public prosecutor. The parliamentary human rights commission announced in a statement that "30 soldiers and 38 police officers had exceeded their authority and thus caused deaths." The public prosecutor of Diyarbakir İbrahim Akbaş opened an investigation into 23 inmates wounded during the attack for "damage to state property and riot" on. The prosecutor abandoned the investigation against the soldiers and police officers with the decision on impunity under the Law on Prosecution of Officials. The prosecutor's office stated that "the soldiers and policemen tried to spare the prisoners suffering."

The parliamentary human rights commission called on the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Justice to prosecute the 29 soldiers and 38 police officers on the grounds that some prisoners were beaten to death. As a result, the Diyarbakir Provincial Authority has started investigations into the soldiers and police. In January 1997, the Diyarbakir Public Prosecutor's Office opened a case against 35 police officers and 30 soldiers.

The number of defendants rose to 72, but no verdict was passed until 2006. After the case was transferred to the Diyarbakir Second Criminal Court, the court ruled at the 59th hearing in February 2006. The court initially sentenced 62 defendants to 18 years in prison for the death of several inmates. Various reasons led to a subsequent reduction in sentence to 6 years imprisonment. The charges against the remaining 10 accused were dropped due to the statute of limitations .

The judgment was overturned by the Court of Cassation of Turkey on the grounds that the defendants should be given an opportunity to comment on the amended allegations. The case was reopened in Diyarbakir Criminal Court on September 30th.

The judgment of the European Court of Human Rights

On May 20, 2012, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in the case of Perisan and others vs. Turkey (application no. 12336/03). The incident is described as follows:

The claimants and the government presented different versions of the incident. According to the applicant, due to the long waiting time at the visitors' section, an argument broke out between two prisoners and the senior prison guard. Police and Jandarma armed with clubs and batons then beat the prisoners until some inmates died. According to the government, a prison riot was rehearsed that morning in which prisoners armed with metal objects attacked the guards.
The incident left 33 prisoners injured and 27 police officers slightly injured. In December 1996, investigations began against various prison employees, as well as 65 police officers and Jandarma.

The judgment:

The government version that the units responded to attacks by heavily armed prisoners contradicted the guards' minor injuries. Furthermore, the violence used against prisoners, which led to the death of eight prisoners, is classified as not “absolutely necessary” according to Article 2. This violated Article 2 regarding the deaths of some inmates.

Museum plans and legal processing

After the constitutional amendment of the Republic of Turkey in September 2010, hundreds of people filed complaints with the local prosecutor to bring charges against their torturers.

In August 2009, plans were published to convert the prison building into a school. However, the idea was criticized by Kurdish activists because they wanted to set up a museum for human rights violations in the building. Despite the construction of a larger prison outside of the city, no decision has yet been taken on the continuation of the current prison. Kurdish activists and politicians believe that their plan to establish a human rights museum, which they refer to as the "Museum of Shame", is largely being ignored by the government. Diyarbakir Prison is still in use today.

reception

  • Mehdi Zana : Hell No. 5 diary from a Turkish prison. The workshop, Göttingen 1997, ISBN 3-89533-209-7 .
  • Şerafettin Kaya : Diyarbakır - experience in a Turkish dungeon. Verlag Edition CON, Bremen 1984, ISBN 3-88526-135-9 .
  • Orhan Miroğlu : Dijwar. Everest Verlag, Istanbul 2009, ISBN 978-975-289-616-1 .
  • 5 No'lu Cezaevi 1980 - 1984. ( Ger . No. 5 prison 1980 - 1984), 2009, director: Çayan Demirel (Documentation with witness statements on the conditions of detention, torture and murders in prison. The Turkish MP Ahmet Türk reports there including from his imprisonment.)

Quotes

  • “If I had been in her place, I would have gone to the mountains too. More than half of the former inmates went to the mountains and the remaining half pays homage to them. ” Bülent Arınç 2012

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Nico Hines: The ten most notorious jails in the world. In: The Times. Retrieved April 28, 2008, January 13, 2013 (London).
  2. ↑ Mehdi Zana: Hell No. 5. Diary from a Turkish prison. The workshop, Göttingen 1997, ISBN 3-89533-209-7 .
  3. ↑ a b c Welat Zeydanlıoğlu (Ed.): Torture and Turkification in the Diyarbakır Military Prison . 2009, p. 13 ( Online [PDF; 260 kB ; accessed on December 29, 2012]). Online ( Memento of the original from November 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / welatzeydanlioglu.files.wordpress.com
  4. ↑ a b Diyarbakır Cezaevi Raporu (in Turkish) (PDF; 890 kB) Report of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM)
  5. ↑ a b Wayback Machine. January 3, 2017, accessed September 25, 2018 .
  6. ↑ a b c "New Research Reveals Horrific History of Diyarbakir Prison" ( Memento of the original from 23 August 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Rudaw newspaper website. Retrieved December 29, 2012. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rudaw.net
  7. ↑ Human rights denied . Contents of Amnesty International's November 1988 report. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  8. ↑ ler / AFP: Diyarbakir: Turkey investigates torture in the horror prison. In: Spiegel Online . April 15, 2011, accessed May 15, 2020 .
  9. ^ Slain PKK member was a rebel with a cause Website of the French news channel France 24 . Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  10. ↑ Üç yılını 'cehennem'de geçirdi ( Memento of the original from May 8, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Website of the Turkish newspaper Radikal , article dated June 23, 2003. Retrieved January 9, 2013.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.radikal.com.tr
  11. ↑ DİYARBEKİR ZINDANINDA KADIN OLMAK ( Memento of March 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), As a woman in the dungeon of Diyarbakir, published November 5, 2005. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  12. ↑ a b Victims seek legal redress for Diyarbakır Prison atrocities ( Memento of the original from November 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Today's Zaman newspaper website, article from October 12, 2010. Retrieved January 9, 2013.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.todayszaman.com
  13. ↑ Mehdi Zana: Hell No. 5. Diary from a Turkish prison. Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 1997, ISBN 3-89533-209-7 , p. 120.
  14. ↑ Necmettin Büyükkaya kimdir? ( Memento of the original from December 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Website with information on Necmettin Büyükkaya. Retrieved January 12, 2013.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rojinliyiz.net
  15. ↑ Mehdi Zana: Hell No. 5. Diary from a Turkish prison. Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 1997, ISBN 3-89533-209-7 , p. 280.
  16. ↑ Remzi Aytürk's activities are described in Turkish by İbrahim Güçlü on the website rizgari.com ( memento of the original from November 1, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , created on January 4, 2011. Retrieved on January 12, 2013. Background information on the organization in German The organization Rizgari or Turkish Kürdistan'da ulusal örgütlenme tarihi ( Memento of the original from March 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatic used and not yet tested. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , İbrahim Güçlü on January 4, 2011. Accessed January 12, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rizgari.com @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rizgari.com
  17. ↑ Some details in Turkish Kurds from Cihanbeyli ( Memento of the original from January 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 12, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cihanbeyli.com
  18. ↑ Devrimci Yol Şehitleri "Martyrs Page " of the group "Revolutionary Way" (Devrimci Yol). Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  19. ↑ The table was published as a “file of torture” by the Human Rights Association in Ankara in March 1996, ISBN 975-7217-09-3 , table by Helmut Oberdiek ( MS Excel ; 121 kB), the website diyarbakirzindani.com provides information D. Bakır Zindanında Ölümler ( Memento of the original from March 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. and a list of information from Mehdi Zana is also provided by Mehdi Zana @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.diyarbakirzindani.com
  20. ↑ Mehdi Zana: Hell No. 5. Diary from a Turkish prison. Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 1997, ISBN 3-89533-209-7 , pp. 120–122.
  21. ↑ Mehdi Zana: Hell No. 5. Diary from a Turkish prison. Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 1997, ISBN 3-89533-209-7 , p. 121.
  22. ↑ a b c d e Annual report of the ( Memento of the original from October 8, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Human Rights Foundation of Turkey The PDF file can be downloaded from the website of the Turkish Democratic Forum. Retrieved January 17, 2013.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.tuerkeiforum.net
  23. ↑ a b c Report of the commission of inquiry , members of the commission from the Human Rights Association (İHD) and the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) . Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  24. ↑ Diyarbakır Cezaevi Katliamı Davasında 10 Yıl Sonra Karar Çıktı: Af! Copy of the report on sendika.org from February 27, 2006. Accessed on January 19, 2013.
  25. ↑ Daily report of the HRFT of October 1, 2009 Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  26. ↑ a b c Perisan and Others v. Turkey Website of the European Court of Human Rights. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  27. ^ Turkish coup victims demand their torturers be put on trial ; Hürriyet Daily News website, April 15, 2011 article. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
  28. ↑ Turn Diyarbakır Prison into a Museum! Website of bianet. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  29. ^ Turkey's Museum of Shame Foreign Policy magazine website . Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  30. ↑ Deputy PM says would join PKK if faced torture like BDP deputy ( Memento of the original dated November 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Website of the Turkish newspaper Today'S Zaman. Retrieved January 17, 2013.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.todayszaman.com

Coordinates: 37 ° 55 ′ 44 ″  N , 40 ° 11 ′ 48.9 ″  E