F**** type prisons in Turkey
@lex | 25.10.2001 15:16
by Simba 1:26am Thu Oct 25 '01
simba@indymedia.org
The struggle continues in Turkey as the death toll reaches 41 in the year long hunger strike by political prisoners and those in solidarity against the constrution of F-type prisons.
Another Turkish prisoner on hunger strike against the creation of F-type cells died on Thursday in the northwest city of Izam, bringing the death toll to 41.
The inmate, jailed for being a member of an extreme left underground organization, was on the 170th day of his protest in solidarity with over 1,000 poilitical prisoners currently on hunger strike.
The Turkish government introduced these F-type prisons in December last year to restore order and security. A number of these cells have been built and more are being constructed. The special features of these cells is that they consist of isolation cells for individual prisoners, although some are two-or-four person cells. As for the prisoners, they report that "the isolation cells will make it easier for the state to attack, torture and kill prisoners without the process turning into a set-piece battle the way it tends to in the existing prisons." The government is keen to introduce these isolation cells for political prisoners to keep them from spreading their message and have spent the equivalent of millions of pounds on construction.
On December 19,2000, the turkish military and state police launched a massive operation known as "operation right to life," attacking about 20 prisons to bring an end to the death fast by hundreds of political prisoners.
There have been massive protests throughout Europe and on the outside of the prisons in Turkey as inmates and associates fast in solidarity to abolished the removal of prisoners from the large dormitory housing to F-type isolation cells.
On September 10, a suicide bomber protesting the new jails blew himself up in downtown Istanbul, also killing two policemen and an Australian tourist and injuring about 20 people.
To keep informed about the the latest on the hunger strike e-mail Gurkan Gur at Hungerstrike2001@aol.com and www.Hungerstrike2001.com which is currently under construction.
Simba Russeau
NYC-IMC
@lex
Homepage:
www.Hungerstrike2001.com