MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Amed (Diyarbakır)- Jiyan Ateş was arrested in Amed in 2012 when she was a university student at Dicle University and then sentenced to 12 years and nine months in prison on  charges of “membership in an illegal organization”. Although she was expected to be released from prison in 2021, she was released from prison on December 17, 2024 because her release had been postponed for eight times by the Sincan Women’s Closed Prison Administration and Observation Board.

 NuJINHA interviewed her about the rights violations in Türkiye’s prisons.

 “The morale of political prisoners is high despite the ongoing rights violations,” she told us. “The will and dignity of the prisoners are targeted by the decisions of the boards aiming to prevent the release of political prisoners. Despite everything, the political prisoners preserve their dignity and will. The boards postpone the release of political prisoners because they say they do not have any regrets. Despite the postponement of their release, no political prisoners say they have any regrets. The aim of the postponement of release is to break the dignity and will of the political prisoners. They should understand that people, who spend 10 or 30 years in prison, will never say that they have regrets.”

‘Medical Chambers should follow the referrals and examination process of prisoners’

Speaking about the situation of sick prisoners, Jiyan Ateş said, “Political prisoners are subjected to many rights violations, including the violation of their rights to health and to life. They are denied access to treatment. Sometimes, seriously sick prisoners were referred to hospitals but they told us that they got tired when they were transferred to a hospital. They were transferred to hospitals and taken back to the prison without any examination. The Medical Chambers should follow the referrals and examination process of sick prisoners.”

Disciplinary punishments against prisoners

Jiyan Ateş also talked about arbitrary disciplinary punishments against prisoners. “We were given disciplinary punishments for hugging our friends when we saw them in the corridors. Despite all the right violations, political prisoners have never been intimidated and they have resisted.”

‘Be the voices of prisoners’

Jiyan Ateş called on everyone to be in solidarity with the political prisoners. “The political prisoners call on everyone to be in solidarity with them against the inhumane policies and conditions in prisons. Everyone should be the voices of the political prisoners and be solidarity with them.”

‘I missed nature’

When Jiyan Ateş was in prison, she missed nature so much. “After being released from the prison, the first thing I did was go outside in nature for my friends in the prison. Since my release, whatever I have done is for my friends in prison.”