Diyarbakır Prison is a prison located in Diyarbakır, south-east Turkey. Although it was originally built in 1980 as an E-type prison by the Ministry of Justice, the prison was swiftly handed over to the military after the 1980 Turkish Coup d’etat.
After the transfer took place, the facility became a Martial Law Military Prison, and remained that way until it was given back to the Ministry of Justice in 1988.
After the military coup of September 1980, the generals abolished parliament, suspended the constitution and banned all political parties and unions. More than 30,000 people were jailed within the first four months after the coup, leading to prisons such as Diyarbakır becoming severely overcrowded.
Diyarbakır became notorious for the cruelty inflicted upon the inmates and dire living conditions. The period dating between 1981 – 1984 is known as the “period of barbarity” and refers to the systematic torture administered which cost multiple prisoners their lives.
Whilst the official capacity of Diyarbakır prison is 744, it is often overcrowded. In 1996, it had a capacity of 650 inmates, but was found to be holding 942. The Diyarbakır Type D prison is specifically for political prisoners and has the capacity of 688 prisoners.
Add comment
Comments