Diyarbakır Bar Association sues prison over abuse of child inmates

The Diyarbakır Bar Association has filed criminal complaints about the physical and psychological abuse of child inmates by guards at a Diyarbakır prison. The abuse was detected through interviews with minors held in the Diyarbakır Children and Youth Prison, the lawyers said.

Duvar English

The Diyarbakır Bar Association has filed criminal complaints about the physical and mental abuse said to be carried out by guards against children held in the province's juvenile detention center, lawyers said at a press conference on Sep. 10.

The lawyers detected the abuse through interviews they conducted with the minors held in Diyarbakır Children and Youth Prison, they said, adding that the children reported both physical and psychological abuse.

"We've concluded that the children have been threatened, battered and badly treated, and their rights to food, health, treatment, communication and education have been violated," the lawyers said.

The prison administration has also reportedly failed to prevent the minors from bullying each other, the bar revealed. 

Maltreatment is a common practice by prison administrations in Turkey, and adult inmates suffer from it as well, alongside minors who have to live in correctional facilities with their parents.