A parliamentary investigation committee report has revealed that 22,781 inmates are currently held at Turkey’s notorious Silivri Prison in İstanbul despite its official capacity of 11,000, the Gazete Duvar news website reported on Friday.
The committee. comprising deputies from the political parties represented in parliament, had with randomly selected inmates in an attempt to determine the conditions at the facility, the report said.
One of the main problems cited by inmates is poor handling of health issues by the prison administration, along with ill treatment by guards and other prison employees.
Silivri Prison is notorious for hosting dissidents, including veteran journalists, opposition deputies, former bureaucrats and writers, over the last decade.
A number of inmates from Silivri took the opportunity provided by the commission to tell the public that they were unable to visit hospitals in a dignified manner, citing being handcuffed during medical visits.
The committee report also found that the prison management restricts visitors or visiting hours arbitrarily. Some inmates claimed their visitors had faced ill treatment from officials.
Another major problem for inmates is a restriction on books ordered from outside the prison.
