Bakırköy Women's Prison

Bakırköy Women's Prison
Bakırköy Women's Prison
Location Bakırköy, Istanbul
Coordinates 40°59′25″N 28°51′26″E / 40.99028°N 28.85722°E / 40.99028; 28.85722Coordinates: 40°59′25″N 28°51′26″E / 40.99028°N 28.85722°E / 40.99028; 28.85722
Status Operational
Capacity 912
Population 900 women, 56 children of age group 0–6 (as of Match 2017)
Opened January 28, 2008 (2008-01-28)
Managed by Ministry of Justice
Street address Zuhuratbaba Mah., Dr. Tevfik Sağlam Cad. 28
City Bakırköy, Istanbul
Country Turkey
Notable prisoners

Bakırköy Women's Prison (Turkish: Bakırköy Kadın Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumu), or officially Bakırköy Women's Closed Penitentiary, is a state women's correctional institution in Istanbul, Turkey. It was established in 2008.

Location

The prison was established by the Ministry of Justice on January 28, 2008. It is situated at Zuhuratbaba Mah., Dr. Tevfik Sağlam Cad. 28, next to the Hospital for leprosy, skin illness and venereal diseases in Bakırköy district of Istanbul, Turkey. To the east 112 Emergency Control Center, to the east and south the Bakırköy Psychiatric Hospital and to the west the Sports Complex of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality are located. Its distance to the Bakırköy Justice Palace is about 3 km (1.9 mi)[1]

Campus

Administration

The administrative building consists of four stories. On the ground floor, inmate reception, visiting rooms of prison physician and psychiatrist, personnel cafeteria, kitchen, laundry and photo kab, are found. The first floor contains personnel entrance, rooms for lawyers, visiting areas and office of the director-on-duty. Other administrative facilities such as the offices of the public prosecutor, the prison director and the staff manager, offices of the deputy director-in-charge, administrative officer, head warden and secretary, meeting hall, library, rooms for education, psychiatric service, computer system room, primary care infirmary, archive, canteen, hairdresser shop and tea shop are on the second floor. Other facilities such as diverse storage rooms, consignment room for the belongings of the prison inmates, censor room for inmate post, telephone center, central control room and room for technicians are situated on the third floor.[1]

The total number of administrative personnel is 292, including 235 prison wardens and ten head wardens.[1] ABout 200 of the personnel are female.[2]

Prison

The correctional institution is capable of hosting in total 912 female prisoners and detainees, as well as juveniles.[1] As of March 2017, the population was 900 women including some foreigners and 56 children of inmates in the age group 0–6.[2]

The building consists of three blocks. Each block contains cells or living quarters in different size reserved for detainees only or prisoners of same age groups. In addition to 41 cells for single inmates, there are wards, also called pods, for 2, 6, 12 and 24 inmates. Other facilities in the prison building are a primary care infirmary with five beds, three rooms for family reunion and five visiting rooms with audiovisual features used also for teleconference between a court room and a defendant, who does not leave the prison.[1]

Security

Outer security

The prison facilities cover an area of 34,478 m2 (371,120 sq ft). It is surrounded by thick and high walls, which are topped with 1 m (3 ft 3 in)-high barbed wire, razor wire in two rows and motion sensors. In addition, razor wire is installed on the edges of the prison buildings's roof. Outside of the surrounding walls of the prison, guard boxes are placed. A deep physical barrier is built in the form of a diaphragm wall under groundin the yard between the prison building walls and the surrounding walls.[1]

Inner security

Inner security of the correctional institution is provided by prison wardens and head officials, who work in four shifts. Prisoner and goods gates are separate. Official counts of the inmates are conducted twice a day under the supervision of the deputy director-on-duty. The exercise yards are opened at 7:00 hours in the morning, and closed depending on the weather conditions. Visitors of the inmates are let in through a door with full body scanner, and are checked in detail for restricted presents.[1]

The prison administration conducts general or individual searches, also called shakedowns, of the inmates or the living areas for contraband as a normal part of prison life in intervals not exceeding than 30 days. These can be routine or random. A general search is carried out with participation of the public prosecutor and the commander of the local endarmerie.[1]

All outgoing and incoming mail, telegraphs and faxes are read by a censor commission, and incoming books, periodicals and printed publications are examined by the education unit.[1]

For security lighting purposes, 45 floodlight projectors at the guard towers and 15 projectors on the surrounding walls are installed. Inside and outside areas of the faculty are monitored by video surveillance. Footage is saved in the central control room.[1]

Daily life

The hour between 7:00 and 8:00 is the inmates' wake-up, personal care and breakfast time. After the inmates count, convicts and detainees are prepared until 9:00 hours to go to the primary care unit, hospital or court. The prison offers treatment for the inmates by in-house dentist, gynaecologist, psychiatrist and family physician. Inmates can join social activities before and after the lunch, can read newspapers, books, watch television and play chess etc. Bedtime is at 23:00 hours.[2]

Gender identity issues

An African-American screenwriter woman, Maisha Yearwood, who identified herself as butch lesbian, was detained in 2009 after her arrest at the airport for drug possession. Before her reception into the prison, the facility doctor questioned her to determine her sex, which was not clear due to her appearance. She was later sent to a hospital for a gynaecological examination. She had to spend her time in solitary confinement.[3]

In 2015, a trans woman claimed that she was subject to forced search and harassment by law enforcement officers during her visit to the prison. An LGBT activist, who went to the prison the same year to visit an inmate, reported that she was denied a body search in the security line for females and was directed to a check by male guards because of her trans women identity. She refused the search, and was harassed after she argued with the male guard.[4]

Prison riot attempt

A prison riot attempt occurred on August 1, 2016, orchestrated by a group of inmates affiliated with the illegal Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C). The convicts set some of the pods on fire, and damaged them. Following the investigation by the public prosecutor, the prison doctor, the medical assistant and two female guards were arrested for leading to a chaos, misconduct and instigation.[5]

Notable inmates

  • Aslı Erdoğan (born 1967), novelist, detained of accusation on membership in the advisory board of a newspaper, which allegedly makes propaganda for an illegal organization,[6]
  • Nazlı Ilıcak (born 1944), journalist, detained of accusation on membership in an illegal organization,[7]
  • Zeynep Kuray (born 1978), journalist, convicted of spreading propaganda for an illegal organization,[8]
  • Esra Mungan, academic, detained of accusation on spreading propaganda for an illegal organization,[9]
  • Deniz Seki (born 1970), pop-singer, convicted of drug trafficking,[10]
  • Seren Serengil (born 1971), singer and actress, convicted of repeated defamation,[11]
  • Ebru Şallı (born 1977), model and actress, detained of accusation on drug offense,[10]
  • Meşale Tolu (born 1984), German journalist and translator of Turkish origin, detained of accusations on spreading propaganda for an illegal organization and membership of the organization,[12]
  • Suzan Zengin (1959–2011), journalist and translator, detained of accusation on membership in an illegal organization,[13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Genel Durum Raporu" (in Turkish). Bakırköy adın Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumu. Retrieved 2018-01-31.
  2. 1 2 3 "Bakırköy Kadın Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumu kapılarını açtı". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 2017-03-08. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  3. ↑ "How This Hollywood Screenwriter Ended Up in a Turkish Prison". The Advocate. 2015-10-21. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  4. ↑ "Sexual Harassment and Attack Against Trans Women at Bakırköy Women's Prison". LGBT New Turkey. 2015-08-17. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  5. ↑ Atam, Habip (2016-08-10). "Bakırköy Kadın Cezaevi'nde isyan". Sözcü (in Turkish). Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  6. ↑ "Prominent Turkish novelist freed from prison". M,ddle East Eye. 2016-12-29. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  7. ↑ "Nazlı Ilıcak hangi cezaevine konuldu?". Türkiye (in Turkish). 2016-07-20. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  8. ↑ "Zeynep Kuray Bakırköy Cezaevi'nden Bildiriyor: Kadın tutuklulara şeker ambargosu". BirGün (in Turkish). 2012-02-11. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  9. ↑ "Tutuklu akademisyen Esra Mungan koğuşa alındı". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 2016-03-28. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  10. 1 2 "Ünlülerin uyuşturucu ile imtihanı". NTV (in Turkish). 2010-03-01. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  11. ↑ "Seren Serengil Bakırköy Kadın Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumu'na girdi". Posta (in Turkish). 2018-02-02. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  12. ↑ "Detained German Mesale Tolu appears in Istanbul court". Deutsche Welle. 2017-12-17. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  13. ↑ "Why is journalist Suzan Zengin still in prison". Ajansa Nûçeyan a Firatê News. 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
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