Gülistan Al (30), a prisoner in Kayseri Bünyan Women's Closed Prison, told about the unlawfulness they were subjected to during her weekly phone call with her family on October 30. In the phone call with her mother Emine Al, she stated that she was subjected to verbal harassment and insults by the soldiers in the guard posts overlooking the ventilation. Al stated that the harassment against her daughter continued in a systematic manner and that the petitions she wrote to her mother about the situation were not responded to. Al noted that the letters she wrote to describe the harassment were also confiscated by the prison. 

 

 

Mother Emine Al said she was worried about what her daughter was going through and called for sensitivity to investigate what happened. 

 

'NOTES CONFISCATED'

 

Mother Al said that after her daughter Gülistan wrote a book in prison about her brother Şiyar Al, who lost his life during the curfew in Cizîr (Cizre) district of Şirnex (Şırnak) in 2016, her room was constantly raided by the guards. Mother Al said that her daughter's letters and notes she wrote for the saz she plays were also confiscated. 

 

'WHAT IS HAPPENING IS A REFLECTION OF ISOLATION'

 

Stating that the violations in prisons are a reflection of the isolation imposed on PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan in İmralı. “All of these are a reflection of isolation. Our MPs and human rights organizations should go to the prison and make investigations. Especially prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment are being pressured with arbitrary practices. This isolation on Mr. Öcalan and our children must be lifted as soon as possible. Peace must come as soon as possible and negotiations must start,” Mother Al said. 

 

WHO IS GÜLISTAN AL?

 

Born in the rural neighborhood of Terbil in the Çermûk (Çermik) district of Amed (Diyarbakır), Gülistan Al was arrested while studying at Malatya İnönü University. She spent 4 months in Malatya Prison and was released. In 2016, she was arrested again in Adana. In 2017, she was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for “disrupting the unity and integrity of the state”. After her arrest, Al was transferred from Adana Prison to Osmaniye Type T Closed Prison, Antep Type L Closed Prison and finally Kayseri Bünyan Women's Closed Prison.