Transgender inmate 'raped and beaten' in Black Sea province of Samsun

Fırat Alkaç ISTANBUL

Avşa says prison officials demanding her to retract her complaints.

A transgender inmate has begun a hunger strike, saying she was sexually abused, raped and badly beaten in jail in the district of Bafra in the Black Sea province of Samsun. The transgender woman, who calls herself Avşa, said she was abused in the Bafra T-type prison before being sent to another prison after initiatives made by her family.

The prosecutor’s office started an investigation into her complaint, but then closed the investigation due to lack of evidence.

However, Avşa’s lawyer, Banu Güvener, said the evidence had been obfuscated, as no security camera footage had been considered in the case. Güvener has sent petitions to both the Civil Society in the Penal System Foundation (CİSST) and Parliament’s Human Rights Commission.

“I have been assaulted in different prisons twice before and those guards were sentenced to prison terms. The same happened to me again in this prison. I was also beaten all of the time. One prison guard beat me so badly I was unrecognizable due to the bruises on my face. They initially refused to send me to the hospital, but had no choice after my situation worsened. I was taken to the Bafra State hospital on Dec. 13, 2013, a day after the beating,” Avşa said in her letter sent to the CİSST.