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.

According to reports, torture and cruelty were commonplace at Diyarbakır prison. The following list is compiled of a selection of methods and punishments which were inflicted up on the inmates:

Physical beatings, pulling of hair, being stripped naked, being blindfolded and hosed down with freezing water, solitary confinement, constant surveillance and intimidation, death threats, sleep deprivation, water and food deprivation, falaka (foot whipping), Palestinian hangings (hanging by the arms) excessive exercise in extreme weather conditions, crushing of limbs and genitals, electric shocks, burning with cigarettes, extraction of nails and teeth, forcing prisoners to beat/ rape one another, bathing in the prison sewers, and even the obligation to salute the Captain's dog, a German Shepard called “Jo” who was trained to bite the genitalia of naked prisoners.

The former Major of  Diyarbakır, Mendi Zana, who spent a total of 16 years as an inmate in the prison claimed after the military coup claimed:

"When a new prisoner arrived at the prison, Captain Esat met him at the entrance and then turned to a guard and said, 'Prepare him a bath; then take him to the dormitory.' This was a ritual. So almost twenty guards accompanied the prisoner. He received a good welcoming thrashing, and then he was dragged, unconscious, to the 'bath,' a bathtub full of shit in which they left him for a few hours."

Countless testimonies have arisen regarding the cruel treatments administered at the prison, including several women. One women described her living conditions: "We were 75 women in a ward for 25 prisoners. As women we are not equal to men, but in Diyarbakır dungeon we were equal relating to torture, isolation, military drill etc. For years we did in prison what soldiers do in their barracks."

During the military occupation of Diyarbakır, the death count drastically increased. Prisoners died during interrogations and as a direct result of the poor conditions of the facility. A staggering 299 people died whist incarcerated at Diyarbakır, and although reports do not indicate what happened to all of the prisoners, we do know that 14 of them died whilst on hunger strikes, 16 were shot to death during escape attempts, and 43 inmates committed suicide.

One of the most famous protests in Diyarbakır history took place in May 1982, when four prisoners who belonged to the PKK (Mahmut Zengin, Eşref Anyık, Ferhat Kutay and Necmi Öner) set themselves on fire. Since then, they have all become important figures in the Kurdish culture and remain martyrs.

On 24^th September 1996, a special team unit, gendarmes and prison officers stormed the prison, killing 10 inmates and wounding a further 46. There are several conflicting reports which serve to make what exactly happened unclear.

The official version of the incident procured by the government indicates an uprising in the prison, forcing the officers to behave in such a manner. The press at the time speculated that it was an attempt to transfer the most dangerous prisoners to another prison which resulted in the inmates refusal and uprising. However, it was clear from the lack of inmate reports that all was not as it seemed. The inmates visitation rights were revoked shortly after the incident, banning families and lawyers from speaking with the prisoners.

The human rights group, Prisons Overnight Committee visited Diyarbakir prison, and despite many delays and refusals, they were finally permitted to speak with several inmates who witnessed the incident. They were told that the 24^th September was the visitation day for halls 18 and 29. The first group of prisoners had met with their families and returned back to their cells without incident. The second group were called, and began making their way to the visitation hall, when a group of prisoners stopped at hall 35 and asked the inmates inside for a large container to carry their food in. Prison guards informed the inmates they this was not permitted, and an argument broke out.

The argument was quickly settled, and yet the chief guard decided to lock the prisoners in the walkway as punishment. Unfortunately, there were 30 inmates in the walkway at the time who were on their way to the visitation hall, and a further three who were on their way back from visiting the prison doctor.  The inmates were all kept in the walkway for over five hours.

Whilst the inmates were trapped, their representatives attempted to negotiate with the guards to send them back to their cells, but no agreement was reached. The guards began to verbally harass the prisoners until about 3.30pm, when the inmates were attacked from both sides of the walkway by the prison authorities.

Regardless of the version of events, the Secretary of the Diyarbakir Chamber of Medicine, Dr. Necdet Ipekyuz declared the following consequences of the brutality:

"Of the 33 victims, 10 were dead. Ten injured ones were treated in Diyarbakır State Hospital and 13 injured inmates were transferred to Gaziantep State Hospital. All killings were the result of head injuries. On the day of the incident, two prison guards visited the hospital at about 10 am. They had very light bruises. The doctors on duty did not know why these guards were sent to the hospital for such minor things. Just before the attack on the inmates, the hospital staff received a call from the district attorney's office. The staff was told to be ready for an emergency to receive a large group of injured inmates."