In its report on Tokat Type T Closed Prison on March 29, Riha (Urfa-Kurdistan) Branch of the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD) stated that video and audio recordings of the meetings held by political prisoners with their lawyers were taken. It was learned that this practice continues. Additionally, new details about the application have emerged.

 

According to the information obtained; The decision to record video and audio of the meetings was taken upon the prison administration's application to the prosecutor's office in 2021. With the decision taken in 2021, Tokat Execution Judgeship approved the taking of video and audio recordings during the meetings. The decision, which covered 3 months, was later extended 11 times. However, no decision was notified to the prisoners or their lawyers.

 

Ahmet Taş, who recently visited a client in prison, objected to the situation. The prison administration conveyed the decision to Lawyer Taş. The forwarded decision also included the request sent by the prison administration to the prosecutor's office, marked "confidential". The request included the following statement: "Since the decision has been notified to the convicts/detainees and their lawyers who are members of the PKK terrorist organization and their lawyers in case of objection to the decision, the decision should not be included in the content of the decision, considering that the grounds for our request are confidential intelligence information."

 

Additionally, details of the judge's decision were included. In the detail of the judge's decision, it was stated that "the meetings of political prisoners with their lawyers should be audio or video recorded with technical devices, an officer should be present during the meeting, the documents or document samples given by the prisoner to the lawyer or the lawyer to the prisoner, the files and the records they kept regarding the conversations between them should be seized." It was also stated that the judgeship limited the meetings with the prisoners' lawyers to one hour.

 

Lawyer Taş objected to the transmitted decision to the Tokat 1st High Criminal Court on 7 May 2024. It was learned that the objection process continues.

 

LAWYER TAŞ: THE DECISION IS AGAINST THE LAW

 

Lawyer Taş, whom we spoke to regarding the issue, stated that the application in question is only active in Tokat Type T Closed Prison. Emphasizing that the decision must be canceled, Taş said: "The decision was made based on completely abstract expressions. It is said that 'information that will endanger prison security', but no concrete evidence has been found for this in the past 3 years. Since this decision has not been notified to the clients, it is not considered final. A decision that has not been finalized has been implemented for 3 years. This is against the law. Since it has not been notified, there is no room for objection. There is no time limit, the administration can extend it arbitrarily every 3 months. It is said that 'orders and instructions' were received and given, but no investigation has been opened against either the prisoner or a lawyer for 3 years. This shows that the claim is unfounded."

 

'PRIVACY IS BEING VIOLATED'

 

Taş said: "A separate legal regime has been established in Tokat. According to the constitution, meetings between lawyers and clients are confidential and documents cannot be confiscated. This privacy is important. However, when we went there recently, this is what we saw; There is an area with cameras and an authoritarian situation. During the meeting, an officer is waiting and listening to the conversations. This is a violation of privacy. There are cameras installed in two rooms. Meetings are held in these rooms. A warning is given that meetings exceeding one hour will be terminated. The prisoner's only connection to the outside world is the lawyer, who may also give private information during this meeting. There is a violation of privacy. The prison administration made a general decision that affected everyone."

 

Stating that similar practices are in practice during the State of Emergency (OHAL), Taş said: "The first places where authoritarian regimes put pressure are prisons. The practices implemented here spread to the outside world after a while. For this reason, everyone must raise their voice against the audio and video recording practice currently being implemented in the prison. All legal organizations must stand against this and ensure its annulment." 

 

MA / Emrullah Acar