RIHA -Stating that the Administrative and Observation Boards forced the prisoners to express their thoughts, ÖHD Riha Branch Co-chair İbrahim Halil Öyke said that the releases were postponed for criminal act reasons.

 

According to the data of the Human Rights Association (IHD), the release of at least 313 prisoners has been prevented more than once for periods of 6 and 3 months since December 29, 2020, when the Administrative and Observation Board application was put into effect. Stating that the boards are against both the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), IHD Headquarters filed a lawsuit against the Council of State on December 12, 2020, requesting a "suspension of execution". While the trial continues, the execution of the prisoners is postponed due to not being "good conduct".

 

Since the implementation of the boards, the executions of at least 20 prisoners in Urfa T 1, T 2 and Siverek T 1 prisons have been postponed on the grounds that they were not of "good conduct". Stating that the Administrative and Observation Boards are against the law, Lawyers for Freedom Association (ÖHD) Riha Branch Co-chair İbrahim Halil Öyke said that the executions of the prisoners were postponed for unlawful reasons.

 

'COMMITTEES ARE LEGALLY CRIME'

 

The prisoners were asked by the committees: "What do you think about the PKK?", "Do you regret it?" Stating that questions such as these were asked, Öyke said: “According to freedom of thought and expression, no one can be forced to express their thoughts. Administrative and Observation Boards violate the freedom of expression and thought guaranteed by the Turkish Penal Code. Forcing people to reveal their thoughts and expressions is a crime and is punishable by imprisonment. However, the Administrative and Observation Boards do this constantly and this is clearly written in the decisions made. It postpones the execution of prisoners, citing a situation that is considered a crime in the Constitution."

 

'DECISION ACCORDING TO THE POLITICAL ATMOSPHERE'

 

Underlining that the boards are against the international agreements to which Turkey is a party, Öyke said: “The annulment case filed by the IHD in the Council of State, requesting a stay of execution, should be decided as soon as possible. There is no control in the boards. Boards make decisions according to the political atmosphere. Prisoners are discriminated against according to the reasons for their arrest. While the right of conditional release is granted to persons detained for certain judicial crimes, political prisoners are not benefited from this condition. Therefore, we can say that there is hypocrisy in its application. Decisions are made not according to the law, but according to the political atmosphere or the direction of the government.”

 

MA / Mahmut Altıntaş