Brian O'Shea
Ceist:46 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement regarding the human rights issues posed by the conditions in Turkish prisons, and those on hunger strike in particular. [29258/01]
Written Answers. - Human Rights Issues.
As the Deputy is aware, I have indicated to the House on a number of recent occasions the concerns of the Government in relation to the human rights situation in Turkish prisons. The rising number of deaths both inside and outside the prisons as a result of the hunger strike gives cause for grave concern.
There have been a number of worrying incidents recently. On 5 November the Turkish security services entered the Kucukarmutlu area of Istanbul with armoured vehicles and bulldozers, resulting in the deaths, in circumstances which are unclear, of four persons who were reportedly on hunger strike in sympathy with hunger strikers in the prisons. In addition, there were reports of a further raid in the Alibeyköy area of Istanbul on 14 November in which nine people were detained by Turkish riot police. The Turkish authorities have informed the EU that the action taken in Kucukarmutlu was in response to persons blocking roads and preventing local inhabitants from going about their business. They maintain that the four people who died were injured in exchanges with security forces and died in hospital of their wounds.
I commend the work of the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture, CPT, which is continuing to work with the Turkish Government and with the prisoners in an attempt to resolve the crisis. In this respect, I wel come the fact that a number of prison reforms have now been introduced, including measures to enhance prisoner contacts with the outside world and to establish prison monitoring boards and sentence enforcement judges. I also welcome the publication on 8 November of the report on the CPT'sad hoc visit to Turkey in July 2000 as well as the decision by the Turkish authorities to authorise the publication of all reports on visits by the CPT to Turkey which have not yet been placed in the public domain. The publication of this material will provide a full picture of the evolution and impact of the CPT's work in Turkey over the last 12 years.
As I have already noted in the House, I endorse the view of the CPT that a resolution of the crisis in the prisons will require a process of adaptation, explanation and confidence-building and that this will involve,inter alia, the examination of all complaints of ill-treatment against prisoners at the time the Turkish authorities intervened in the prisons in December last and, where appropriate, the prosecution of state officials. Finally, I urge all the parties involved to exercise restraint and to make every effort to ensure that further loss of life, both inside and outside the prisons, can be avoided.