Inmates at Sincan High-Security Prison in Ankara have been facing worsening conditions, with claims of overcrowding, denied access to healthcare and arbitrary treatment by prison authorities, the TR724 news website reported.
The facility, one of Turkey’s largest penal institutions, houses a mix of criminal convicts and political prisoners.
Relatives say rights violations have escalated, particularly in wards where people imprisoned by decree laws issued during a state of emergency following a failed coup in 2016 (KHKs) are held. More than 130,000 civil servants were fired and imprisoned under the KHKs, often without clear evidence or timely trials.
E3, one of three KHK-designated wards, was recently emptied to accommodate criminal detainees. Its inmates were merged into the neighboring E2 and E4 wards, pushing occupancy from 24 to at least 34 prisoners per unit, according to a family member who spoke on condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal.
“Now, nine or ten people are sleeping on the floor,” the relative said.
The overcrowding in Turkey’s prisons has been a growing issue since 2005, with prison populations swelling annually. According to Ministry of Justice data, Turkey’s prisons now operate at 20 percent over capacity, with the country leading Europe in both total prison population and incarceration rates per capita.
Access to medical care is also reportedly obstructed. Inmates struggle to receive timely hospital referrals, with cancellations attributed to a lack of gendarmerie escorts or abrupt administrative decisions.
“One day the gendarmerie says they’ll take ten people,” the relative said. “But then they refuse to take the political prisoners. They say, ‘We’ll take criminal convicts instead.’ It’s completely arbitrary. Some inmates haven’t seen a doctor in months.”
Turkish authorities have frequently been criticized for their systematic disregard of the health needs of prisoners. Every year rights groups report the death of dozens of sick prisoners, either while behind bars or shortly after their release, which often comes at the end-stage of their illness. Turkey recorded 709 deaths in prison in the first 11 months of 2024, according to data from the Ministry of Justice shared in response to a parliamentary inquiry.
