Detention centers in Turkey

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The prisons in Turkey are divided into closed and open prisons , with the former being divided into regular and high-security prisons . Many prisons have separate sections for women and sometimes also for children and adolescents. But there are also separate prisons for women and children, which are divided into closed and open. There are also 3 educational institutions for children across the country. As in many other countries, a distinction is made in Turkey between pre- trial detention and criminal detention .

history

In the Ottoman Empire, the prisons were called dungeons ( Turkish zindan ). In Turkey, the dungeons were mostly dark and damp towers. The first prison in Istanbul's Sultanahmet district was built in 1831 and was called the General Prison ( Hapishane-i Umumi ).

With the penal code introduced in 1858, a distinction was made between the death penalty and heavy labor on galleys ( kürek for rowing on ships), in the pillory ( prangabentlik ) and imprisoning in the tower ( kalebentlik ).

With the Turkish penal code passed on March 1, 1926, a distinction was made between serious criminal offenses (and corresponding penalties, comparable to the prison sentences known from Germany ) and light offenses. In addition to the offenses ( Turkish cürüm ), there were also violations ( Turkish kabahat ). Law No. 5349 of May 11, 2005 abolished the distinction between light and severe penalties, but not the distinction between courts (see the paragraph on criminal courts in Turkey ).

The period from 1980 to 2000

With the military coup of September 12, 1980 , martial law was proclaimed in all 67 provinces of Turkey that existed at the time . Members of armed and unarmed left and right organizations, whose often bloody arguments were given as the reason for the coup, had to answer to military courts . As a result, civilians were detained in military prisons in many locations . In addition to the military prison of Mamak in Ankara province , especially the acquired prison Metris (in Istanbul ) and the (again as a dungeon called) prison in Diyarbakir awareness.

Because of the high number of prisoners, many new prisons were built from 1982 onwards. Amnesty International reported in a November 1988 report that the number of prisons had increased to 644 and the capacity increased from 55,000 to over 80,000. From 1986 the relatives of political prisoners organized themselves in the Human Rights Association (IHD) , but also in groups to show solidarity with prisoners from certain organizations (such as TAYAD, see page on DHKP-C ). With their help, the prisoners tried to publicize their demands for improvements in prison conditions and the hunger strikes (death fasts) carried out for this purpose.

In April 1991, Act No. 3719 on Combating Terrorism ( Terörle Mücadele Kanunu , also known as the Anti-Terrorism Act, ATG) was passed. Article 16 of the law provided that all persons covered by the provisions of this law were placed in high security prisons with single cells and cells for three people.

The time since 2000

Whereas in 1996 the political prisoners prevented transfer to the first maximum security prison in Eskişehir (it was called "special type prison") with a death fast that cost 12 lives, in 2000 they did not succeed in transferring to other maximum security prisons (now called " Type F Prison "). There are now 13 type "F" prisons. In addition, there are two type “D” prisons, which are also referred to as high security prisons .

facts and figures

According to the General Directorate for Prisons and Prisons ( Turkish: Ceza ve Tevkifevleri Genel Müdürlüğü , part of the Ministry of Justice of Turkey), 382 prisons were in operation on January 13, 2017, including 292 closed and 70 open prisons in Turkey . There were 2 educational institutions for children. There were 8 closed and 4 open prisons for women and 6 closed prisons for children and young people . As of November 1, 2016, a total of 197,297 prisoners, 68,006 in pre-trial detention and 129,291 in criminal detention in these institutions.

Between 2006 and 2016, a total of 197 prisons were closed at district level. In the same period, 139 new, modern prisons were put into operation.

Official information on the number of prisoners can be found in the annual reports of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey and on the website of the General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers for the period prior to 2000.

Years Detention Custody
Usually terror Organized Not clear total Usually terror Organized Not clear total total
2000 20310 4477 68 24855 19787 4190 680 24657 49512
2001 22347 5116 78 27541 23984 3182 902 28068 55609
2002 25642 5123 114 30879 25035 2622 893 28550 59429
2003 28293 4161 261 32715 28663 1976 942 31581 64296
2004 23467 2170 373 26010 29279 1618 1023 31920 57930
2005 22518 2093 247 24858 28364 1537 1111 31012 55870
2006 23978 2116 242 26336 39830 1719 2392 43941 70277
2007 34852 2418 338 37608 47091 2102 4036 53229 90837
2008 42234 2540 433 45207 50470 2899 4659 58028 103235
2009 53067 2967 547 56581 52512 3361 3886 59759 116340
2010 80440 3682 993 1451 86566 29676 2535 1566 471 34238 120814
2011 86542 4179 907 989 92617 29901 4266 1372 448 35987 128604

The following figures were given for the reporting date January 31, 2010:

group Custody in revision Detention total
ordinary perpetrators
34,242
18,545
53,254
 106.041
right-wing terrorism
358
42
531
931
left terrorism
2,871
360
2,426
5,657
defected terrorists
25th
11
94
130
organized crime
3,553
684
551
4,788
Total 41,049
19,642
56,856
 117,547

The following figures were given for the reporting date March 31, 2012:

group Custody in revision Detention total
ordinary perpetrators
29,890
17,597
72.022
 119.509
terrorism
4,643
481
3,846
8,970
organized crime
1,283
389
522
2,194
without assignment
457
42
1,197
1,696
Total 36,273
18,509
77,587
 132,369

In June 2010, Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin responded to a request from Batman MP Bengi Yıldız that a total of 86 new prisons with a capacity of 40,026 inmates would be built between 2010 and 2015.

The Turkish Democratic Forum (DTF) has compiled an overview of prisons in Turkey as of October 2008 from the information provided by the General Directorate for Prisons and Prisons. The further details listed here are also based on information provided by the General Directorate for Prisons and Prisons.

Type total Capacity (single) more details
A. 4th 24-30 County-level prisons built in the 1950s and 1970s. There are 4 halls ( koğuş ), bathroom, kitchen, library and a conference hall. There are separate departments for women and children.
A1 2 24-40 Like type A; additional 2 cells and space next to the halls that can be used as a kitchen.
A2 9 40 Built in the 1950s and 1960s; 5 halls and 2 disciplinary cells.
A3 18th 60 Built in the 1950s and 1960s; there are 6 halls.
B. 8th 64 7 halls and 2 disciplinary cells; in each hall space that can be used as a kitchen and for each room a separate space to the courtyard .
C. 2 164-300 8 halls and 4 disciplinary cells; Bathroom and space in every room that can be used as a kitchen.
D. 2 750 11 blocks including one block for administration; 230 rooms. In Block E there is a laundry, a library, a training room and 16 hobby multi-purpose rooms. The lower floors in Block H and L are disciplinary cells. There are 10 observation rooms each on the ground floor and first floor of Block G. In Block G there are two infirmaries with 10 beds each. The prisons are based on the system of single cells or cells with 3 people.
E. 44 600-1000 They were built on 2 floors according to the “hall system” (koğuş sistemi) and then converted to the “cell system” (oda sistemi) with communal rooms for 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 people. Each room has a separate space for the courtyard walk. The upper floor of the first part is for administration. The lower floors are the dining rooms and the upper floors are the bedrooms. There is a department to monitor 80 people. In addition to the kitchen and washrooms, there is a hairdresser, hammam , visiting rooms , prayer room, conference room and workshops. The buildings have heating.
F. 14th 368 See F-type prison
H 5 500 They were built according to the "cell system" with two floors and two blocks. There are 200 solitary confinement rooms and 100 communal cells for three prisoners each. There are separate dining rooms and a fully equipped kitchen. In addition to the kitchen and washrooms, there is a hairdresser, hammam, visiting rooms, prayer room and a conference room. The buildings have heating.
K1 43 42-60 District-level prisons with 4 rooms and 2 disciplinary cells. There is a library and a conference room. Each hall has a separate space to the courtyard, a bathroom and a kitchen.
K2 17th 60-150 Like type K1 with 6 halls and 2 disciplinary cells.
L. 22nd Closed prisons that were built in large cities in place of old prisons. There are units for 7 people with a total of 208.93 m², with individual cells of 12.45 m², open courtyards of 65.19 m² and common living space of 56.59 m². The cells are locked at night and seven prisoners are together during the day. There are 61 units for 7 people, 4 rooms for 3 people each, 40 single cells. There is one main control center and six local control centers. Objects and food are x-rayed at the entrance and exit. In addition to the administration, there are doctors, dentists, psychologists, social pedagogues, laundry staff and heating technicians. Personnel can be called via an illuminated button.
M. 23 Community detention rooms for 4, 6, 8 and 10 people were made from these two-story buildings in the “hall system”. Every room has space for the courtyard. The dining rooms are on the lower floor and the bedrooms upstairs. The building is heated with 6 disciplinary cells.
R. 3 150 Closed penal institutions for men, women and children with physical or mental disabilities. The institutions were built according to the "cell system" in 6 blocks with 12 individual and 46 communal cells for three prisoners each. There are 6 courtyards and 2 leisure courtyards. A health service is available around the clock for nursing and medical care; there are, among other things, 21 doctor rooms.
T 54 616 They replaced the old penal institutions in the big cities. There are 72 rooms for 8 people, 8 rooms for 3 people and 16 single cells with 12 m². The rooms for 3 people take up 27 m² with living and sleeping places on the upper and lower floors. The bedrooms for 8 people have 28 m² on the upper floor and 32.5 m² as living space in the basement. 8 people 35 m² and 3 people 30 m² are available for the courtyard walk. The sports hall has 494 m², for outdoor sports there is 251 m², and a multi-purpose performance hall has 226 m². There is a room for open visits of 450 visitors and closed visits of 36 people, as well as legal interviews for 32 people. There are workshops, hospital wards and classrooms. Objects and food are x-rayed at the entrance and exit. In addition to the administration, there are doctors, dentists, psychologists, social pedagogues, laundry staff and heating technicians. Personnel can be called via an illuminated button.
F (o) 4th open prison for women
F (g) 8th closed prison for women
K (g) 6th closed prison for children and adolescents
K (e) 2 100-250 Educational institutions for children; In the heated educational institutions there are sickrooms, sports grounds and workshops. Young people between the ages of 12 and 18 stay here. If an apprenticeship has started, it may be allowed to stay up to the age of 21.
(G) 21st untyped closed prisons
(O) 70 35-485 open prisons
(O) 63 Open penal institutions subordinate to other institutions (Bağlı Açık Ceza İnfaz Kurumları)

The General Directorate for Prisons and Prisons in the Turkish Ministry of Justice uses this information to arrive at the total of 382 prisons with a capacity of 202,675 inmates.

Statements by international bodies

In addition to non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch , the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has dealt with the situation in prisons in Turkey. One focus was the F-type prisons, which the CPT encouraged Turkey to build, and the situation in the detention center on the island of İmralı , where Abdullah Öcalan , the leader of the armed Kurdish Workers' Party PKK , has been the only inmate since 1999 is.

On March 6, 2008 the report of a visit to the island from May 19 to May 22, 2007 was published. This was the fourth visit to İmralı Island . In the end, the CPT came to the following assessment: "Abdullah Öcalan has been in the maximum security prison on the hard-to-reach island of Imralı for almost 8½ years ... Previous visits by the CPT had not found any significant harmful effects on health. This assessment must now in view of developments the physical and mental conditions of Abdullah Öcalan are to be revised. "

During visits to other prisons, the CPT pointed out various abuses. For example, in the summary of a report dated December 8, 2005, a.

  • the staff in the Izmir (Buca) Closed Asylum and E-Type Prisons in Aydın and Gaziantep should be strongly reminded that abuse of prisoners is unacceptable
  • The Turkish authorities should take all necessary steps to develop programs for community activities in F-Type Prison 1 in Izmir
  • Immediate steps must be taken so that each prisoner in the E-Type prisons in Aydın and Gaziantep has their own bed
  • the level of hygiene in the residential wing of the E-type prison in Gaziantep must be checked.

See also

Web links

References and comments

  1. ↑ Lecturer Dr. Cevdet YILMAZ: The historic Sinop Castle Prison , published in the journal Eastern Geography ( Dogu Cografya Dergisi ), issue 22, p. 6. It is not known whether the general prison and the Sultan Ahmed prison are identical.
  2. ↑ See article in Turkish by lecturer Dr. Mustafa AVCI , accessed August 18, 2009
  3. ↑ There is a website (in German) with the exact title: Archive link ( Memento of the original from January 17, 2010 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 / www.diyarbakirzindani.com
  4. ↑ AI report index: EUR / 44/65/88 in English
  5. ^ Reference on March 5, 2017
  6. ↑ İstatisticians. Yıllara Brat Mevcutlar. (Allocation by year) General Directorate for Prisons and Prisons, accessed on March 5, 2017.
  7. ↑ The statistics of the General Directorate for Prisons and Prisons in the Ministry of Justice of Turkey begin in 1970 at the address http://www.cte.adalet.gov.tr/menudekiler/istatistikler/yeni_yillar.asp .
  8. ↑ Source Democratic Turkey Forum: Report in February 2010 , accessed on June 10, 2010
  9. ↑ The information was available on May 20, 2012 at the address Archivlink ( Memento of the original from March 26th, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (in Turkish). This page also stated that at the end of March 2012 a total of 7,096 seats were short of capacity. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cte.adalet.gov.tr
  10. ↑ Gündem Online from June 8, 2010 ( Memento of the original from June 12, 2010 in the web archive archive.today ) 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. ; accessed on June 10, 2010  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.gundem-online.net
  11. ↑ [1] On this page there is also a link to a table on the question of which prisoners are housed in which prisons. The Excel file can be downloaded or opened at this address ( memento of the original from March 26, 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. offered; Accessed August 31, 2009 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.tuerkeiforum.net
  12. ↑ A Tipi Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri. General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  13. ↑ In old prisons the halls (in Turkish koğuş , in English ward or dormitory ) had up to 50 inmates. The newer prisons sometimes have 2-3 inmates and are seldom created for more than 8 people. Individual cells are primarily intended for the case of disciplinary punishment ( solitary confinement or arrest ).
  14. ↑ A1 Tipi Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri. General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  15. ↑ A2 Tipi Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri. General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  16. ↑ A3 Tipi Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri. General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  17. ↑ B Tipi Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri. General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  18. ↑ C Tipi Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri. General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  19. ^ D Tipi Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri. General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  20. ^ E Tipi Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri. General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  21. ^ F Tipi Yüksek Güvenlikli Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri. General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  22. ^ H Tipi Yüksek Güvenlikli Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri. General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  23. ↑ K1 Tipi Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri. General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  24. ↑ K2 Tipi Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri. General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  25. ^ L Tipi Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri. General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  26. ^ M Tipi Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri. General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  27. ^ R Tipi Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri (Rehabilitasyon Merkezi). General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  28. ↑ T Tipi Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri. General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  29. ↑ Kadın Açık Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri. General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  30. ↑ Kadın Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri. General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  31. ↑ Çocuk ve Gençlik Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri. General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  32. ↑ Çocuk Eğitimevi Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri. General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  33. ↑ Belirli Bir Tipi Olmayan Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri. General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  34. ↑ Açık Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri. General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  35. ↑ Bağlı Açık Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarımız ve Özellikleri. General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers, accessed March 5, 2017.
  36. ↑ See two messages in the daily newspaper Hürriyet on December 14, 2000 and March 17, 2001
  37. ↑ CPT Report: Turkey: Visit 22/11/1992 - 03/12/1992 ( Memento from July 29, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  38. ↑ CPT Report Turkey: Visit 16/03/2004 - 29/03/2004 ( Memento from July 23, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )