More than 350 Turkish inmates continued a "death fast" and more than 1,650 others were on a hunger strike of solidarity despite deadly security raids to end the protests, Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said Sunday.
But the minister stressed that Ankara would not back down from the controversial prison reform that sparked the protests.
Turk told reporters that 353 inmates were still on a "death fast" -- a two-month-old protest against the opening of new jails where cells for three people at most will replace current dormitories housing up to 60 inmates.
The movement prompted security forces to storm 20 jails across the country on Tuesday to "rescue" hunger-strikers. The four-day crackdown claimed 28 lives, according to officials.
The minister said 1,665 other inmates were conducting a hunger strike of solidarity, taking minimal amounts of water and sugar.
"The total number of prisoners who continue the protests in various jails is 2,018," Turk said.
Sixteen inmates died by orchestrated self-immolation during the security crackdown, while 10 others and two soldiers were killed when prisoners used arms and explosives to resist the raids.
Ankara says the strikes were masterminded by outlawed armed groups from the extreme left, and many inmates were forced to starve.
Asked whether the ongoing strikes were evidence of the failure of the crackdown, Turk said: "The aim of the operation was to save the lives of inmates, to rescue them from the influence of terrorist groups and to render the leaders of these groups ineffective.
"But we see that even though they were rescued from the pressure of terrorist groups, some inmates continue their acts in the trap of fanaticism into which they had fallen," he added.
The minister urged the protestors to halt the strike, saying that they had reached a "dead end."
"If their condition deteriorates, we will do whatever is necessary for a medical intervention," he added.
Following the crackdown earlier in the week, 1,005 prisoners were transferred to three prisons built in accordance with the reform and 375 of them had quit the hunger strike, Turk said.
Ankara says that the overcrowded dormitories have led to lax security, enabling inmates to smuggle in weapons and turn compounds into virtual fortresses, where riots and hostage-taking incidents were commonplace.
Also, the press has regularly reported prison administrators and guards turning a blind eye to irregularities after being either bribed or bullied by outlawed groups and mafia gangs.
But the prisoners, backed by Turkish and foreign human rights groups, maintain that the cell system will make them more vulnerable to mistreatment and torture.
Turk stressed that the government would not back off from the reform project and would even accelarate work to convert dormitories in existing jails into smaller compounds.
"The dormitory system, which had enabled terrorist and mafia groups to establish their rule in prisons, will be ended in all institutions," the minister said.
He added that a legal provision banning the association of inmates convicted under an anti-terror law will be abolished in line with universal human rights standards.
In rebuilding its jails, Ankara will also benefit from a recently passed amnesty law, under which about half of Turkey's 72,000 inmates are expected to be freed. Several thousand began their walk to freedom Sunday.
Interior Minister Saadettin Tantan admitted Saturday that state failure to rehabilitate the unruly jails over the years had eroded its control over prisons, leading to Tuesday's deadly crackdown – ANKARA (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
