Imprisoned former police chief Ömer Köse is being tortured in Tekirdağ F Type Prison. Ömer Köse is kept alone in a three-person ward, and his ward’s heating is low. Hot water is not given, and cold water is often cut off. He has also limited the use of the commissary.
Letter from the Ministry of Justice to keep Ömer Köse alone in the cell
Ömer Köse, former head of the Istanbul Police Department’s Anti-Terrorism Unit, has been in jail since August 2014. Köse, who was kept in Silivri Prison for a long time, was sent to Tekirdağ F Type Closed Prison during the state of emergency.
Köse, who was dispatched without his consent, wrote the appeal petitions to be put in a three-person cell alone. They answered that “There is a letter from the Ministry of Justice to keep Ömer Köse alone in a cell.” For this reason, Köse has been under isolation for two years.
It is stated that the isolation applied to Köse is quite heavy. While all prisoners meet with their families in the same hall, Köse is allowed to meet his visitors in a special room. Thus, he does not see anyone other than the guards who come to his cell. His right to chat and do sports is not used exclusively by prison management.
He has no lawyers
The most important problem faced by Köse is that his petitions are not processed. The guards do not receive criminal complaints made by Köse to the prosecutor’s office about the practices of the prison administration.
It is stated that the ward of Köse, which is kept under special surveillance by a female chief guard, is cold, and the heaters are reduced by external intervention. Köse has iron deficiency anemia, and his request to buy a bed and blanket was also denied.
Coldwater is given for a short time to Köse, whose hot water is completely cut. Köse, which filled the pet containers received from the canteen for water needs, was also prohibited from having more than one pet container in his cell.
Writing his defense without keyboard
There are also restrictions on the right of defense of Ömer Köse, who is subjected to a naked search in prison. The right to use the computer for access to the indictments and their annexes in digital media is restricted. He cannot write his defense because he is given a computer without a keyboard.
Another pressure method imposed by the prison administration is that Köse’s petitions are not received. The guards do not receive the petitions about the violations of the prison administration. Thus, Köse’s right to apply to the judiciary has been taken away.
His mother verbally abused
It is stated that when Köse, who has been subjected to constant pressure and ill-treatment, reports the commissary and similar needs, he encounters inimical answers such as “What do you want again?”. His mother, Mensure Köse, his only visitor, was subjected to slurs during the visit, such as “Your son is a terrorist.”
The request of Ömer Köse to be transferred to Silivri is not fulfilled despite the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The ECHR ruled that detainees should be held in the province of their families.
General Directorate of Criminal and Detention Houses did not answer our questions about rights violations experienced by Ömer Köse.
