BOLU – In Bolu F-Type High-Security Prison, the release of 35 prisoners has been blocked by the Administrative and Observation Board on the grounds of “lack of good behavior,” according to Berivan Barin from the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD). Of the 35, 34 have been incarcerated for over 30 years.
Systematic rights violations continue in Turkish prisons, with Bolu F-Type standing out for repeated denials of release and growing concerns about arbitrary decisions. Lawyer Berivan Barin emphasized that the prison's Administrative and Observation Board has repeatedly postponed the release of dozens of prisoners, many of whom have already completed their minimum sentences.
“In Bolu Prison, 35 inmates’ releases are systematically blocked. All but one have been behind bars for more than 30 years,” said Barin, pointing out that the Board’s decisions reveal the erosion of rule of law.
‘ARBITRARY AND IDEOLOGICAL GROUNDS’
The Administrative and Observation Boards were introduced to assess whether inmates qualify for parole based on behavior. But according to Barin, this mechanism is increasingly used to force political prisoners to express remorse.
“There’s no legal requirement for prisoners to show remorse, but in practice, parole is being made conditional on it,” said Berivan Barin and added: “These decisions are made without face-to-face evaluations. The board reviews documents only and extends imprisonment arbitrarily.”
WIDESPREAD RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
Berivan Barin also noted that rights violations in Bolu Prison are not limited to parole issues. She highlighted systematic problems including delayed access to medical care, forced handcuffed examinations, restricted communication in Kurdish, and censorship of letters.
“Letters in Kurdish are often blocked on the basis that they are ‘not understood,’ unless prisoners pay for translation,” Barin said. “Even correspondence with lawyers or MPs is frequently censored.”
Political prisoners are also denied access to books, notebooks, and opposition publications, further isolating them.
‘SENTENCE ENDS, PUNISHMENT CONTINUES’
Berivan Barin underlined that Bolu Prison houses a large number of political prisoners and life-sentence inmates, where ideological coercion is most intense. “Bolu stands out because of the high number of political prisoners. This leads to more severe pressure for ideological conformity,” she stated. “The sentence may be over, but the punishment continues.”
NAMES OF PRISONERS DENIED RELEASE
According to Barin, some prisoners have had their parole postponed up to eight times. The full list includes: Nedim Yılmaz (8), Abdulhamit Ahraz (7), Abdullah Çelik (7), Ahmet Abdi İbrahim (4), Ahmet Mustafa (4), Ali Murat Çelik (4), Ataş Göbe (4), Aydın Adıyaman (3), Aydın Yüce (2), Bülent Güneş (4), Deniz Öztürk (7), Feridun Kurt (1), Hacı Ekinci (4), Halil Dağ (7), Hasan İnci (3), Keyfo Başak (6), Şirin Bozçalı (6), Maruf Türken (2), Mehmet Deniz Güzel (2), Mehmet Zeki Eşin (2), Muhammed İsmail (1), Murat Çetinkaya (2), Muzaffer Akış (4), Nurettin Ataman (6), Metin Dalan (1), Ömer Okul (2), Özgür Sincer (2), Ramazan Vural (3), Sabit Kaya (4), Salih Korkut (5), Serhat Öztürk (3), Sinan Türkmen (5), Suat Gökalp (5), Şahap Elbasan (7), Tuncay Doğan (2).