Death of 17-Year-Old Ali Erdoğan in Prison on Parliamentary Agenda

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Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) İzmir MP Serpil Kemalbay has addressed a Parliamentary question to Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gül regarding the suspicious death of 17-year-old Ali Erdoğan in his prison ward in İzmir Juvenile Closed Penal İnstitution on April 7.

In her Parliamentary question addressed to Minister Gül, Kemalbay has reminded him that the state is responsible for safeguarding the prisoners' right to life. She has also shared the following information about the children and their suspicious deaths in prisons across Turkey:

Child prisoners and impunity

"According to the data of the Ministry of Justice, there are 1,778 arrested and 994 convicted children at the ages of 12-17 in prisons in Turkey, which means there are over 2,800 children behind bars across the country.

"While 18 children lost their lives in prisons in Turkey from 2009 to March 2017, the suspicious deaths of children, some of them registered as suicides, were met by impunity and legal struggles ended in non-prosecution.

"The Civil Society in the Penal System (CİSST) Association made 68 applications to obtain information about child prisoners from November 2015 to June 2017 and 42 of these applications remained unanswered, which manifests the practices of impunity."

'He may have been killed or driven to death'

Reminding Minister Gül that 17-year-old Ali Erdoğan, who had been arrested in İzmir Juvenile Closed Penal Institution for two months, was found dead in his ward on April 7, Kemalbay has noted that there are allegations that Erdoğan may have been killed or driven to death:

"Fadime Erdoğan, the mother of Ali Erdoğan, stated that his son called her on April 3 and talked about people who harassed him in prison.

"The day after, at around 3.30 p.m. on April 4, an officer from Şakran Prison called the mother and informed her that her son 'harmed himself.'

"The mother went to Çiğli Regional Hospital, where he was hospitalized, and she was told, 'Your son is in intensive care, we cannot give information or show him to you, wait for news from us.' When she came back to hospital on April 7, she was informed that 'her patient lost his life.'

"Having called the prison officer to get information about why and how Ali claimed his life, the family's application to the İzmir Branch of Human Rights Association (İHD) has also been reported in the news.

"Press has also reported the statements of prison psychologist who said, 'Ali was a cheerful child, I cannot believe how he did something like that.'

"While the authorities have stated that a COVID-19 test will be done on the deceased body of Ali Erdoğan, the family's statement that there were bruises on his body shows that there is also a possibility of violence."

Questions to Minister Gül

Reiterating that children are subjected to grave violations of rights and condemned to live in inhumane conditions in prisons, Kemalbay has raised concerns over the impunity ensuing the deaths in prisons and asked Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gül a series of questions:

* As of April 2020, how many arrested and convicted children are there in prisons since 2017?

* Will the Ali Erdoğan's complaint to his mother 'there are people harassing me in my ward' and the reason for bruises on his body be investigated?

* Is the possibility that Ali Erdoğan may have been killed in his ward objectively and thoroughly inquired?

* Is an investigation launched into the passing of Ali Erdoğan upon the request of the family to identify the neglects and violences?

* Are the details of the meetings between Ali Erdoğan and prison doctor requested?

* How many applications on violations of rights, torture and maltreatment were submitted from Juvenile Closed Penal Institutions from 2017 to April 2020?

* How many personnel were put on trial, faced an investigation or were given a disciplinary punishment for violations of rights, torture and maltreatment in Juvenile Closed Penal Institutions from 2017 to 2020?

* Do you have any work to prevent violations of rights in Juvenile Closed Penal Institutions and to fulfill your obligations arising from national and international conventions?

* Does your Ministry have any work to meticulously follow the ensuing judicial and administrative process to uncover the truth and to ensure that the deaths of child prisoners in prisons will not end in impunity?

* Though both the Constitutional Court verdicts and Beijing and Havana Rules indicate that the arrest of children can be the ultimate remedy, why are there rules and verdicts violated in Turkey and why is the number of child prisoners rapidly increasing in the country?

* Will you carry out any work to open the doors of prisons to human rights institutions, non-governmental organizations and associations so that the power-holders' right and opportunity of domination over prisoners and the grounds leading to human rights abuses can be eliminated and transparency can be established? (EKN/SD)