Death Fasts: 107 Died, One still Fasting

The death fast, which began in protest of the maximum-security F type prisons in Turkey, is in its third year. That is, 1095 days have passed since the death fast first begun.

Since March 21, 2001, when Cengiz Soydas died in the Sincan F-type prison, 107 people have died, including those who lost their lives in the December 19 prison operations and the "strike house" operation in the Kucukarmutlu district.

The only person who is still pursuing the fast is Mursel Kaya, who is currently at the Ankara Numune Hospital. Some 500 people were left disabled as a result of death fasting.

A total of 816 prisoners began the death fast on October 20, 2000. They demanded that "F-type maximum security prisons do not go into effect, and Turkey's terrorism laws are lifted."

Association For Support to Families of Prisoners and Convicts (TAYAD), repeated its demand that isolation at F-type prison system is lifted at once, saying the problem should be solved through meeting with prisoners and convicts.

In three years, 30 people died at the prison operations on December 19, 2000, including two paramilitary police officials; 51 people died as a result of death fasts; five people burned themselves to death; two people died under treatment for death fast related diseases; four people died at the operations on the houses where death fasts were being held in Kucukarmutlu; two people committed suicide; and one person died in an attack in Holland.

In December 2000, a mediator group formed of intellectuals Yasar Kemal, Oral Calislar, Mehmet Bekaroglu, who was a lawmaker of the then-Virtue Party, representatives of the Turkish Physicians Union (TBB) and Turkish Architects' and Engineers' Chambers Union (TMMOB), held days-long meetings with the sides in the issue.

During those meetings, Hikmet Sami Turk, the justice minister of the time, said, "F-type prisons will not be open before Turkish people are convinced." However, right after this statement, the "return to life operation" was launched in 20 prisons around Turkey all at the same time. Thirty prisoners and two paramilitary police officials lost their lives in this operation.

To F-type prisons by force

After the operations, many prisoners and convicts, including those who were not carrying out a hunger strike or a death fast, were forcefully transferred to the F-type prisons, which were not even ready yet. Police carried out operations to houses in the districts of Kucukarmutlu, Okmeydani and Alibeykoy, where people were hunger striking in support of the prisoners.

The "three doors, three locks" campaign launched by the Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir bars and aimed at ending the death fasts was supported by the people but failed to get the Justice Ministry do something.

The death fasts continued after the December 19 operations. Released prisoners and convicts continued with their death fasts.(EO/BB/EA/NM)