‘They Tortured me with Foot Whipping as I Wanted to Have a Report Documenting Battery’

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İsmail Çelik, an inmate of Afyonkarahisar Type T Prison, brought up the allegations of torture in prison in his phone call with his family last week. His elder brother Hüseyin Çelik has recently visited İsmail Çelik in Afyonkarahisar Prison and learnt about the details.

28-year-old İsmail Çelik was one of the inmates who were transferred from Bandırma Prison to Afyonkarahisar Type T Prison around two weeks ago. Speaking to bianet after visiting his brother in prison, Hüseyin Çelik has said, "There were black-and-blue marks all around the eyes of my brother. There were signs of violence and trauma on his body."

'They beat us while both standing and sitting'

As indicated by his elder brother Hüseyin Çelik, İsmail Çelik has recounted the process of transfer and its aftermath in following words:

"After they brought the FETÖ [Fethullahist Terrorist Organization] people to Bandırma Prison, they made us get on shuttles and sent us to Afyon prison. When we got on the vehicles, they tried to do everything to us in the name of curses, beatings and inhumane treatment. They beat us telling, 'Why are you sitting? You have no concept of respect, do you?'. We stood up; then, they beat us again saying, "Why are you standing?!

'Doctor didn't do anything'

"When we came to Afyon Prison, they tried to do a naked body search. When we objected, they beat us and put us in solitary confinement. They came to us in the prison cell and asked, 'Will you see the doctor? Will you get a report documenting battery?' When we answered in the affirmative, they took us to the doctor. But, the doctor did not do anything.

"When they took us back, they started beating us, saying 'You will get a report, won't you?'. They forced me on the ground, placed me in a falanga and whipped my feet for several times. They kept doing it until I passed out. Then, they apparently took me to the cell.

'They ripped my letter, threw it in my face'

"They took all our possessions. They seized our personal belongings. They only left trousers and a shirt on us. I tore my shirt and used it as a belt.

"They shave our beard and moustache by force. They impose a military order on us. They do not process a single one of our petitions. They ripped my letter to the Ministry of Justice before my eyes and threw it in my face, saying 'You insulted the institution.'

'15 people held in a single-person cell'

"They are giving us food only in plastic plates for days now. They do not even give us spoons. They are using all vital opportunities against us. My feet ache miserably, but they either beat us or cause other troubles when we want to go to the sickroom.

"We are in a difficult situation. Please try to make our voices heard by sensible people. They are now holding 15 people in a single-person cell. Please hear our voice and help us."

What happened?

While he was studying Accounting at Iğdır University, İsmail Çelik was arrested on charge of "membership of a terrorist organization" in 2012. Talking to his elder brother Osman Çelik on the phone on February 14, 2020, Çelik said that they were transferred to Afyonkarahisar Type T Prison.

Telling his brother what he went through, İsmail Çelik said that he and 17 others were transferred from Bandırma Prison to Afyonkarahisar Prison, all of the transferred people were either sick or old, the moment they came to the prison, they were battered and the bones of inmates were broken as a result of this battery. İsmail Çelik himself also suffered visual loss.

bianet contacted the prison administration. While they did not share any information about the exact number of people transferred from Bandırma, they denied the allegations of torture.

The allegations of torture at Afyonkarahisar Type T Prison were also brought up on January 21, 2020. Mehmet Ali Dayan, one of the tortured inmates, told his family during the visitation that his fingers were broken and while some inmates have broken legs, some of them have bruises on the bottom of their feet as they were tortured with foot whipping (falanga).

It was also reported that inmates were forced to undergo naked body search and counting on foot, they were not given televisions, clocks, radios and magazines and they were subjected to the threats of prison wardens. (TP/SD)