Only minor problems at Silivri: report

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

The Parliamentary Human Rights Commission’s sub-commission for prisons has issued a report after conducting examinations at Silivri Prison, where a number of high-profile suspects in the coup plot case are being held.

The report said the number of convicts in the prison did not exceed the prison’s capacity, but added that measures should urgently be taken to resolve possible water problems. As the acoustic features of the wards could also have some negative impacts on prisoners’ state of health, work should also be started on that subject.

However, the prisoners argued that they could not use their conversation rights and that their demands to benefit from social activities and courses had been rejected, adding that they had encountered a policy of alienation. A number of prisoners said the free visitation time, which should last two hours every month, had been reduced to one hour a month by the administration, on the grounds that the number of prisoners had recently increased.

Some prisoners said water was distributed according to a chart for seven hours a day, but that seven hours was not sufficient time. Some also said there was an acoustic problem in wards because of the echoing of voices, and that this noise caused hearing problems.

A number of prisoners also complained that they were suffering from various stomach disorders because the meals served were extremely oily, while others complained that the running water became muddy on the days when hot water was given.

There are currently 8,586 convicts in Silivri prison, the capacity of which has reportedly been increased to 11,270 people.

The total number of personnel working on the prison campus is 2,677, while there are 500 lodging buildings and two courtrooms. A third courtroom is under construction.