Spousal visits cut to half an hour

Aytaç Ünsal and Didem Baydar Ünsal were detained in the operation against the People’s Law Office. Aytaç Ünsal was placed in Burhaniye T-Type Prison, and his wife, lawyer Didem Baydar Ünsal, in Karabük Prison. With them not even permitted to speak by phone despite being married, Aytaç Ünsal’s mother, lawyer Nermin Ünsal, made an application to the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry replied, “Convicts are denied the facility of calls involving phoning from outside.”

 Following a months-long legal battle, Karabük Enforcement Judgeship ruled in favour of phone calls. The Serious Crime Court also upheld the ruling. But, as their prisons could not be phoned from the outside, no solution was found. At this, lawyer Didem Baydar Ünsal was moved to Burhaniye Prison so that they could make internal visitations. This time round, Burhaniye Prison management decided that the couple could not have family visitations while visiting one another.

 This time, Nermin Ünsal applied to the Enforcement Judgeship for the annulment of this decision. As these events were playing out, it was learnt that the Ünsal couple’s one hour per month intra-prison visitation right had been cut to half an hour by prison management.

 Appearance before a judge after one year

 An indictment on the charge of “membership of an armed terrorist organization” seeking jail terms of up to twenty-two and a half years has been drafted by Istanbul Republic Chief Prosecution against the lawyers of the People’s Law Office, which has handled cases involving the mining disasters in Soma and Ermenek, the Reyhanlı massacre, Berkan Elvan, Dilek Doğan who was shot by the police in her home and academic Nuriye Gülmen and teacher Semih Özakça,

 The first hearing of the case in which the lawyers are being tried will be heard on 10 September, following the passage of around one year since they were placed in detention.

 Telefonla görüşmeleri bile yasak: Eş görüşüne yarım saat sınırlaması