Welcoming beatings in prison

Alican Uludağ
 
Events redolent of the torture and mistreatment that marked the 12 September period are starting make a reappearance at similar prisons. University student Berkay Ustabaş, in detention for attending Berkin Elvan’s funeral, was beaten up on being transferred to Kırıkkale Prison. Twelve people who were transferred to Kırıkkale Prison along with Ustabaş were stripped naked and given a “welcoming beating”. Some of the detainees were also subjected to foot whipping.
 
Ankara-based lawyer Eylem Hakverdi went to Kırıkkale Prison on Thursday and held a consultation with her client Berkay Ustabaş. Ustabaş spoke of his experiences to his lawyer. From the account given by Hakverdi, Istanbul University student Berkay Ustabaş had been detained on the charge of “membership of a terrorist organisation” for having attended Berkin Elvan’s funeral. Ustabaş, who was being held along with two other people in Silivri, was astonished to hear a voice calling, “Are you ready?” at the cell door. The three detainees, getting on their feet in the endeavour to find out what was happening, suffered an “assault” at the hands of up to twelve warders who entered. The three people, suffering a beating without being told they were to be transferred, were placed in a prisoner transport vehicle. A total of twelve people were taken from Silivri to Kırıkkale F-Type Prison.
 
Doctor “didn’t see”
 
The detainees were not even permitted to take their belongings in the cell. The detainees, stripped naked on their entry to Kırıkkale Prison, were subjected to a “welcoming” beating with kicks, punches and truncheons. From Ustabaş’s lawyer’s account, some of the detainees were subjected to foot whipping. It was also alleged that the warders were cautioned while taking the detainees to their cells, “There is a camera here so don’t hit them – there is no camera there so you can give them a beating.”
 
The detainees were brought before a doctor for a health report. Detainee Ustabaş told the following to his lawyer, “The warders hit us on our backs and hips to leave no marks. I asked for the warders to leave during the examination. The doctor ridiculed me saying, “Are you not in the prime of your youth?’ He looked at the normal places and said there was nothing up with me. The team that beat us up was trained. They knew where to do the business.”
 
Lawyer Eylem Hakverdi noted that she would file a criminal complaint against the wardens who tortured her client.