Prisoners in Turkey 'deprived of reading material, punished for writing poetry'

Inmates are being restricted access to books, the daily Evrensel newspaper reported. Prisoners' books are routinely confiscated and have been punished for writing poetry in their notebooks. “Our right to obtain information is being violated. The books we read are separated into a different section and we can only exchange them with others in every 15 days by writing a petition," a prisoner said.

Duvar English

Prisoners in Turkey are being punishedfor writing poetry and denied certain reading privileges, accordingto local news reports.

The daily Evrensel newspaper reported on a letter received from prisoner Yücel Kaya, who wrote that inmates at a high security prison in the eastern province of Elazığ were being punished with solitary confinement for writing poetry in their notebooks, and that this was based on “security reasons.”

Kaya said that the number of books that prisoners are allowed to have in the Elazığ prison is limited to seven.

“Our right to obtain information is being violated. The books we read are separated into a different section and we can only exchange them with others in every 15 days by writing a petition," Kaya told Evrensel.

"When searching our cells, which has turned into a routine, the prison administration arbitrarily seizes our books, which have not been banned or ordered to be collected by court decisions, saying that they will 'inspect' them though they are not returned afterward. They also seize the notes that we take from books," he added.

Another prisoner to complain about the limitations on books was İbrahim Gökçek, a member of the leftist folk music collective Grup Yorum, which has faced a de-facto ban on their concerts since 2016.

Gökçek, who is one of the many Grup Yorum members who have been on an extended hunger strike demanding an end to the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) ban on their concerts, told main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Süleyman Bülbül that political books were not being given to prisoners and that there was a limit to the number of books they could receive.

Bülbül said that Gökçek, who has dropped to 40 kilos, mentioned other bans in prisons.

"They are not giving us the original versions of our letters. They give us photocopies and much of it is blacked out,'” Bülbül said, adding that Gökçek said there was a ban on sports activities, which makes it impossible for certain prisoners to see each other.