ANKARA - Political Prisoner Sariye Taşkesen said that she was battered in Diyarbakır Women's Prison, where she was brought for trial, that her clothes were taken off and she was harassed.

 

Sariye Taşkesen, who is being held in Sincan Women's Closed Prison, stated that she was subjected to a violation of her rights in Diyarbakır Women's Closed Prison on September 29 for the hearing of the case brought against her. In the letter she sent through her lawyer, Taşkesen said that her clothes were forcibly removed and the doctor did not give a report of assault despite the rash on her body.

 

CRIMINAL COMPLAINT

 

Taşkesen said in her letter: “I was taken to Diyarbakır Women's Closed Prison on October 29. I would come back after 1 night. Diyarbakır Women's Closed Prison guard told me to take off my clothes. When I did not accept, the number of 3 guards was increased to 5. 2 guards grabbed my feet, 3 guards grabbed my hands and the other guards tried to sit on my knees and take off my clothes. They took off my shirt and socks. They tried to take off my t-shirt and pants, but when I resisted, they gave up.”

 

Stating that she also encountered practices that amounted to abuse, Taşkesen continued: “My breasts were tightened, different parts of my body were pinched. I applied to the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Family, Women and Social Affairs, the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, and the Execution Judge regarding this incident. On October 29, I was taken to the infirmary. The prison doctor did not report that he did not see the strip search and the rashes on my body as assault. I have filed a criminal complaint against the doctor to the Ministry of Health.”