HAKKARİ - Mother Zahide Kılıçoğlu, who has not been able to visit her son Dılhaz Kılıçoğlu, who has been exiled to Konya Ereğli T-Type Prison, for about three years, requested that her son be transferred to a close province.

 

The indefinite-alternating hunger strike launched by Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) prisoners demanding an end to the aggravated isolation imposed on PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, regain his physical freedom and an end to the violations of rights in prisons continues on its 193rd day. Every day, new ones are added to the pressure against the prisoners who are resisting. The rights of visit and communication of prisoners exiled to cities far from their families turns into torture. Similar practices towards prisoners are also experienced by families. Zahide Kılıçoğlu, who lives in Cumhuriyet Neighborhood of Yüksekova district of Hakkari, is one of them.

 

Family cannot go to the meeting

 

Zahide's son Dılhaz Kılıçoğlu, who was detained on charges of being a member of Kurdish Civilian Protection Units (YPS) during the curfews in Yüksekova and was later sentenced to life imprisonment, has been in prison for six years. After being imprisoned in Van for two years, Dılhaz was exiled to Konya Ereğli T Type Prison for battering the guards. Since then, Dılhaz's open and closed meetings with his family have also ceased. The family, who cannot go to the meeting due to economic reasons, can only receive news from their son over the phone.

 

‘I have not seen my son for three years’

 

"I want to see my son now," says mother Zahide, who has not been able to see her son for nearly three years. Zahide said: "My son has been in prison for six years. My son was not guilty of any crime. After three-four trials, my son was sentenced to life imprisonment. My son was exiled from Van to Konya. There was another file opened against him. He was sentenced to life imprisonment from that file. But that sentence has not been approved yet."

 

‘Let them bring him to a nearby province’

 

Zahide, who wants her son to be brought to a nearby province, said: "My son was exiled to Konya on the grounds that he battered the guards in Van. I cannot go to the meeting because they exiled my son to Konya. Dılhaz was tortured a lot when he was detained. All I want is for my son to be brought closer to me. Let me see, I want to know how my son is. I know they will not release him, but at least they should bring him somewhere close for me to see. They released the prisoners due to the pandemics, but they did not release ours. We want our children to be with us as soon as possible."

 

Zahide underlines that they could not go to the meeting because of the financial difficulties they experienced and said: "I want to see my son."