What happened to Garibe Gezer?

A Kurdish woman political prisoner was found dead after speaking out about torture and sexual assault in custody. Now the Turkish government is blocking an investigation.

1. Is the violence against Garibe Gezer, including sexual assault, within the knowledge of your Ministry?
2. What is the reason for the rejection of Garibe Gezer’s request to be transferred to a three-person cell?
3. Is there an investigation initiated against the prison personnel who used violence against Garibe Gezer? If yes, against how many people have these investigations been opened, with which accusations? If not, why is there no investigation yet?
4. Why does the Prosecutor’s Office not take action regarding the statements of violence in the Penitentiary Institution?
5. Is it true that the health workers working in the Penitentiary Institution treated Gezer badly, and that she did not receive treatment during the infirmary? Has an investigation been initiated against the employees on duty?
6. Is it true that some of Garibe Gezer’s letters were not sent and some were censored?
7. What is the legal basis for Garibe Gezer’s solitary sentence, imposed after she told her family about her experiences, and for the initiation of a disciplinary investigation?
8. Considering the severe violence and the traumatic process that Garibe Gezer has experienced, will steps be taken to ensure that she can move to a three-person cell?
9. On what legal basis are the rooms called “sponge rooms” [padded cells] used as a punishment method? In which prisons in Turkey do they exist, and how many of these “sponge rooms” are there in total?
10. Do strip-searches, and sexual assault as a result, continue to be practiced in prisons? Will steps be taken to terminate this practice?

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Researcher following Kurdish politics, Syria, Turkey.

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