Report Of The Events In Diyarbakir Prison

Report Of The Events In Diyarbakir Prison

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dosyé lé ser girtigeha Amedé ye..di sala 1996 anda dema ku komkuji çebu......
bila hemu dinye bibine..

çavkaniya mıjar jé ABD ye...........kerem kın....

((diyarbakır cezaevinde 1996 meydana gelen katliamın dosyasıdır..

ABD sitesinden aldim.....))
.....
..
PCkopat....

An Investigative Report Of The Events In Diyarbakir Prison When Ten Kurdish Inmates Were Beaten To Death By Turkish Soldiers And Police
By members of the Prisons Oversight Committee


Thursday, September 26, 1996

There are conflicting reports circulating in the air as to what really happened on September 24, 1996 in the Diyarbakir prison. Officials have offered one version. The press accounts have varied. Some of the latter accounts have produced scenarios that accord with the government¹s version of events. They support the government. Some say that there was an uprising in the prison. Others note that the inmates wanted to visit the women¹s section of the jail. Still others note the belligerence of the inmates towards the recanters as the principal cause of the disturbance. There is still one other explanation which says that the authorities wanted to end the impasse by a decision to transfer the rebellious inmates to another prison and their disobedience to the orders brought about the altercation. All these reports cite the government officials as their sources. None make a reference to the views of the inmates. None note that the attorneys for the inmates were not allowed to visit their clients. None say that the families of the prisoners were barred from visits to the jail. None state that the journalists were not even allowed to enter the prison. pckopat bydigiden alinmiştir
As a result, the need for an investigative report became apparent. Those who witnessed the events and those who lived through them needed to be questioned to get to the facts of the event. The public needed to know the truth. To that end, on behalf of Prisons Oversight Committee, we, the attorneys Esber Yagmurdereli, Mustafa Ucdere, Eren Keskin, Gulizar Tuncer, Mercan Polat and Dr. Umit Erkol, Yusuf Cetin and Fikriye Kilinc undertook a trip to Diyarbakir on September 26, 1996. Ms. Tuncer and Mr. Polat were representing Istanbul Human Rights Association. Dr. Erkol was representing the Turkish Human Rights Foundation. Yusuf Cetin was the representative of Cinema Employees Union. Ms. Kilinc was representing Grup Yorum, a popular music band. pckopat bydigiden alinmiştir
In the city, our group met with emergency security measures and our work was hampered. We were not allowed to meet with the inmates. We met with the members of the Diyarbakir Human Rights Association, the members of the Diyarbakir Bar Association, the members of the Diyarbakir Democratic Platform, the members of the Diyarbakir Medical Doctors Association and the families of the inmates. pckopat bydigiden alinmiştir
Five members of our group were attorneys and they wanted to meet with some of the inmates. We were not successful. First we were told we were not the attorneys of record for the inmates. Then we were told we were not members of local bar association. Still later we were told it was the meal time. We insisted that these reasons did not bar us from visiting the inmates. The response of two colonels in civilian clothes who were in charge of the prison -- a disturbing fact in itself -- left us wanting. We then met with the prosecutor for the prison, Mehmet Tiftikci, and informed him of our desire to meet with the inmates. He refused to entertain our request and simply told us we were not the members of Diyarbakir Bar Association and therefore could not meet with the inmates.
We wanted an investigation to be undertaken about these individuals. We did not get very far. Our desire to meet with the District Attorney, despite an appointment, did not materialize, even though we waited for more than an hour at his office.
It is our shared opinion that the prison officials, the prison prosecutor and the District Attorney¹s office were trying to hide certain facts from us and the public. In our opinion, their agitation over our investigation was in itself quite telling.
As a matter of fact, we were proved correct when finally the members of Diyarbakir Bar Association were permitted to visit the inmates. They brought out stories that differed markedly from those of the Minister of Justice [Sevket Kazan], the official pronouncements and the press accounts. A summary of their findings follows. It should also be noted that these attorneys hold high offices in the Diyarbakir Bar Association.
On the day of the event, the inmates of halls 18 and 29 had their visitation day with their families. The first group of inmates met with their loved ones and returned to their cells without incident. Then the second group of inmates were called. As they were walking to the visiting room, some among the group stopped before hall 35 and asked the inmates inside for a large container to carry their food to their cells. The guards told the inmates not to take the containers. The arguments that followed were settled between the inmate representatives and the guards. Despite the resolution of the problem, the chief guard decided to lock the inmates in the walk way. Thirty inmates with visitation rights and three inmates who had visited the doctor and were on their way back to their cells were trapped in the walk way. They were kept there for about five hours. pckopat bydigiden alinmiştir
During this period, the representatives of the inmates made attempts to resolve the impasse with the authorities but reached no conclusions. They asked that they be allowed to go back to their hall but made no headway. They told the guards to press charges on the inmates that had asked for the container and that did not alter the situation as well. As this unfolded, some of the prison officials among them the guards began to verbally harass the inmates. The soldiers began shouting slogans. At about 3:30 p.m. in the afternoon the inmates were attacked on both entrances to the walk way. As the beating went on, many realized that this beating may result in their death. pckopat bydigiden alinmiştir
This information just cited was given to us by the members of the Diyarbakir Bar Association members.
According to the Secretary of the Diyarbakir Chamber of Medicine, Dr. Necdet Ipekyuz, the followings happened.

1. There were 33 victims. Ten were dead. Ten injured ones were treated in Diyarbakir State Hospital and 13 injured inmates were transferred to the Gaziantep State Hospital.
2. One of the inmates who had been critically injured died on the way to Gaziantep State Hospital.
3. The first day we operated on three inmates. Now no one needs an operation.
4. Three of the ten inmates who were treated in Diyarbakir prison are in critical condition.
5. None of the casualties were as a result of gun shots, cuts or penetrating wounds.
6. All of the killings were as a result of head injuries.
7. The autopsy reports plus our conversations with the doctors who operated on the patients reveals that the victims had only head injuries. pckopat bydigiden alinmiştir
8. Since the incident only 72 hours have passed, therefore we can not now predict how many more of the injured may die.
9. On the day of the incident, two prison guards visited the hospital at about 10:00 a.m. They had very light bruises. The Doctors on duty did not know why these guards were sent to the hospital for such minor things.
10. Just before the attack on the inmates, the hospital staff received a call from the district attorney¹s office. The staff was told to be ready for an emergency to receive a large group of injured inmates. pckopat bydigiden alinmiştir

When the various pieces of this puzzle are put together, the testimony of the inmates, the findings of the doctors and the statements of the officials who were trying to hide certain things, an awful picture emerges. The evidence makes it clear that the attack was premeditated. And it is also clear that the attackers wanted to kill some of the inmates. These victims, defenseless, locked in a walkway with no where to go, were beaton on heads mercilessly. The evidence also makes it clear that the statements of the officials were trying to legitimize the attack.

Those who were killed:
1 - Mehmet Aslan
2 - Cemal Cam
3 - M.Sabri Gumus
4 - Ahmet Celik
5 - Hakki Tekin
6 - Ridvan Bulut
7 - Erkan Perisan
8 - Nihat Cakmak
9 - Edip Donekci
10 - Kadir Demir
Those who were critically injured and kept in Diyarbakir prison:
1 - Ramazan Nazlier
2 - Yasin Alevcan
3 - Ramazan Korkar
4 - Mehmet Batuye
5 - M. Emin Izra
6 - Iskan Osal
7 - Kenan Acar
8 - Abdullah Eflatun
9 - Hakki Bozkus
10 - Emin Mizrak
11 - Bedri Bozkus
Those who were transferred to Gaziantep:
1 - Ahmet Sever
2 - Ali Yerme
3 - Sehmus Kaya
4 - Muharrem Deger
5 - Yavuz Eken
6 - Cemal Tas
7 - Halil Suren
8 - Ali Kaya
9 - A. Vahap Uyanik
10 - Muhlis Altun
11 - Nusret Yelboga
12 - Irfan Korkan
13 - Mehmet Pehlivan
Our committee believes that the authorities in the government had prior knowledge of this incident and in fact some of them took part in its implementation. The hunger strikes of this past summer which lasted 69 days and culminated in the death of 12 inmates brought about some reforms but these reforms are now once again violated by the government of Turkey. We, therefore, ask the government officials to honor the pledges they made to the inmates over the summer about the prison conditions. We also ask the government officials to find those who were responsible for these events. We ask that charges be brought against them. We believe the Minister of Justice, Sevket Kazan, needs to resign immediately. His constitutional immunity should be lifted. He should be prosecuted.pckopat bydigiden alinmiştir
Mustafa Ucdere
Attorney
Esber Yagmurdereli
Attorney
Eren Keskin
Attorney
Gulizar Tuncer
Attorney
Mercan Polat
Attorney
Dr. Umit Erkol
Yusuf Cetin
The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey Fikriye Kilinc
Grup Yorum