VIDEO and Info on the situation of hunger striking prisoner Fikret Akar

The physical condition of Turkish anti-fascist political prisoner Fikret Akar is rapidly deteriorating. He spoke about his condition in a phone conversation with his wife on October 18.

Fikret Akar has been on an indefinite hunger strike for 210 days. This isn’t a very long time by hunger strike standards, but due to constant attacks from the AKP regime and prison administration, his condition has become extremely grave.

Fikret’s body rejects sugar, his only source of energy during the hunger strike. He can consume only 80-100 grams per day, which is completely insufficient. Due to the lack of energy, his body is destroying muscles and nerves. He now has virtually no muscle left, and his body is “eating” nerve tissue.

Every morning, Fikret struggles to get out of bed. Sometimes, he can’t get up at all. He is extremely weak. He can’t sleep due to cramps and a burning sensation in his legs.

Fikret Akar was arrested last August and has not yet been found guilty of any crimes. Until a court verdict is issued, Fikret Akar is presumed innocent. However, he is being held in a maximum-security prison in complete isolation, in a cell just 5-6 steps long, with no fresh air and even sunlight prohibited.

The prison cell, a “pit-type” structure, contains a bed, a kitchen-style counter, a metal wardrobe, a plastic table, and chairs. The prisoner is left with a very narrow corridor to walk through. He can only receive newspapers and send letters if he has money, which is very expensive.

The prisoner has the right to a 10-minute phone call per week and one visit per month with a close relative.

Fikret Akar began an indefinite hunger strike on March 30 of this year against these inhumane conditions. His demands are very simple and absolutely fair: to be transferred to a cell other than a “pit” type.

Solitary confinement for more than 15 consecutive days is prohibited by international law. According to Turkish law, a person can be held in solitary confinement for no more than 20 days. Placing a prisoner in solitary confinement can only be used as punishment for misconduct. Despite this, the Turkish regime imprisons both convicted and unproven offenders in solitary confinement for months and years.

This practice is nothing less than torture. Its purpose is to destroy anti-fascists psychologically and physically, to sow fear in people that any resistance to fascism will result in their being thrown into a “pit” for many years.

Imprisonment in “pit” prisons is a disguised form of the death penalty. It is an attack on human dignity.

Pit-type Prisons must be closed!

Prisoners must be transferred immediately to different types of prisons before it’s too late!

Every day, every hour of delay, threatens some prisoners with irreversible health damage and others with death.