14/08/2015 | Writer: Hakan Özkan
Education Committee of Bafra T-type Closed Prison has prohibited the delivery of Kaos Gl Journal to a convicted trans woman due to its obscene’ text and content. Convict’s objection was rejected by the Judge of Execution.
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Education Committee of Bafra T-type Closed Prison has prohibited the delivery of Kaos Gl Journal to a convicted trans woman due to its ‘obscene’ text and content. Convict’s objection was rejected by the Judge of Execution.
Kaos GL Journal – Vol.96 (Sept.-Oct. 2007) sent to Bafra T-type Closed Prison confronted with a prohibition. The journal, “loneliness” on the issue, contains the image of two men from the movie “Le Temps Qui Reste” of François Ozon in its cover page.
The decision no.2015/61 (dated 24.06.2015) was concluded as “Content is included obscene writings and comments; therefore, according to the article 11.B titled ‘publications not approved for institution’ of Ministry of Justice- Penal Institutions- the Instruction for Libraries it is decided unanimously not to deliver to the related person.”
Education Committee Includes Psychologists, Social Workers and Teachers
The decision of the Education Committee of Bafra T type Closed Prison consisting of the Chairman Adem Tatlısoy, Second Manager Bayram Çalışkan, Social worker Gökhan Özdemir, Psychologist Hilal Tamkoç, Teacher Erkut Volkan Aksoy and Librarian Mustafa Kayakıran was grounded on the instruction of Ministry of Justice and the issue no. 172470 of General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Houses.
Publications allowed in the prison must be in the scope of those matters:
*Be such as to be the source for the rehabilitation and educational programs, and lessons
*Be such as to increase the general and craft knowledge of the convicts and prisoners
*Be such as to strengthen their humanity and devotion to their nation/ country
*Be such as to enable their moral improvement
*Be such as to provide their recreation, gaining reading habits and improving their cultural knowledge
General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Houses’ article no.172470 includes “Qualifications of the publications approved for the Penal Institutions are indicated one-by-one, and publications contrary to those principles and rules may be prohibited in accordance with the legal regulations of Education Committee Department of the Prison.”
Judge of Execution Rejected
The convict has indicated in her petition to the Prison Directorate that the prohibition on the delivery of the journal is an illegal and a highhanded occasion. However, Judge of Execution’s decision (dated 30.06.2015) includes this justification: “In spite of the occasions situated in her petition, as indicated above one of the aims and responsibilities of the Penal Committees is to provide the moral and material rehabilitation of the prisoners and to take necessary measures for this issue.”
The objection was rejected by Attorney General’s affidavit and document screening on the grounds that “The journal includes the obscene content stated before; therefore, it is agreed to constitute a contradiction with the articles no. 11-A and no.11-B (indicated before).”
What happened in Bafra Prison in the past?
Avşa, one of the transexuals who went on a hunger strike due to the violation of their rights in Bafra T type Closed Prison, has told the problems in her letter to Kaos GL.
Avşa has stated that she has staged a hunger strike for 60 days because she is exposed to sexual abuse and harrassment systematically in prison. Then she was taken from Bafra and sent to Kocaeli Prison.
In 2014, trans prisoners indicated their demands as: “We call TR. Ministry of Justice to immediately stop homophobic and transphobic practices of the prison directorate against the trans prisoners who has staged on a hunger strike for 28 days, and to immediately stop violation of rights. We demand that medical teams should get the health of trans prisoners on strike under control, conditions of the prison should be improved and it should begin a legal process against the personnel practicing those violation of rights.”
After those problems encountered, majority of the trans- prisoners in Bafra was sent to particularly Eskişehir and the other prisons.
Tags: life
