Some prisoners in Turkey have raised the alarm over increasing sexual harassment and violence as a result of a “strip and search policy regulations” in prisons.
Pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) Deputy, Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, was the first person to speak up against the systematic act in a Turkish prison, which made others to lend their voices and experiences in prisons.
Other prisoners also spoke through the pro-democracy activists to condemn the act.
However, in a statement, the Turkish Prison Authorities (CTE) denied the existence of such an act, saying that “strip and search” was not part of their regulations.
The CTE said, “A ‘strip and search’ in the code is a thorough search, but does not include leaving the prisoner or detainee completely naked.”
According to the prison authorities, detailed searches in correctional centres are procedures and are widely accepted and practiced.