March to Ankara against the isolation in prison
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On February 5, the IHD Istanbul branch started a march to Ankara together with the families of the prisoners demanding an end to the increasing number of rights usurped in prison. In a statement made in the name of the families at an action in front of Galatasaray High School before the march started, it was said that oppression, torture and isolation in prison, as seen in the case of Engin Ceber, have continued. {divide}The mass, among them revolutionary democratic organisations such as the ESP , carried the banner read "We are marching to say stop to the deaths, isolation, oppression and bans in prison" and different posters, and shouted slogans on their demands.
The march of the families of the prisoners and human rights activists who started from Istanbul with buses continued passing the cities of Izmit, Sakarya and Bursa. At the actions organised in these cities, the people were informed on the problems in the prisons. Despite police harassments, the families of the prisoners reached Ankara on February 6. In a statement made here in the name of the mass, it was declared that the mass wanted to meet with the Ministry of Justice and the Parliament and hand them over the files prepared on the usurpation of rights in the prisons to immediately stop the arbitrary acts against the political prisoners.
The demonstrators gathering on Yuksel Street, Ankara, marched until Parliament. The mass was welcomed by some DTP deputies in front of Parliament. In a statement made here, it was emphasized that the number of people facing the usurpation of rights and thus complaining at the IHD in only 2008 is 3,519. It was also stressed that this number is constantly growing. The demands of the prisoners' families were also announced by the former general president of IHD and DTP deputy Akin Birdal in a press meeting in Parliament. In his speech Birdal talked about different problems the prisoners are facing such as health problems, problems to regularly receive newspaper and the right to speak Kurdish.