ANOTHER VICTORY OF POLITICAL PRISONER IN PIT-TYPE PRISON IN TURKEY

The demands of the political prisoner in Turkey Fikret Akar, who was on indefinite hunger strike against severe isolation in pit-type prison, were accepted on 29 November. However, he was forcibly kept in hospital with a forged stamp, they did not give him vitamins B1 and B3, and kept him in a freezing cold room for a week despite his hunger strike and severe cold.

For this reason, Fikret Akar only ended his hunger strike when he was returned to prison on 5 December.

As Fikret Akar said in a telephone conversation on 22 November: “Either I will be transferred. Or I will die. There is no middle ground.”

Fikret Akar began his indefinite hunger strike on 30 March 2025. From 30 March to 29 November, for 8 months, we witnessed his resistance day by day.

As supporters of the prisoners on hunger strike in this campaign, we carried out many creative actions. We constantly developed new forms of action.

Fikret Akar became one of the prisoners who went on hunger strike for the longest period, 250 days, until his demands were accepted.

Only Nurettin Kaya went on hunger strike for longer, 273 days.

Ahmet Sercan Aslan also had to go on hunger strike for a very long time, 243 days.

According to figures published in the latest TAYAD bulletin, the friends who have gone on hunger strike to date and the duration of their strikes are as follows:

• March 2020 – Şerif Turunç (52 days)
• 1 May 2023 – Nedim Öztürk (138 days)
• 13 September 2023 – Hüseyin Karaoğlan (143 days)
• 20 October 2023 – Nurettin Kaya (273 days)
• 13 November 2023 – Bakican Işık (100 days)
• Sezgin Zengin (100 days)
• 24 February 2024 – Oktay Kelebek and Cem Dursun 181 days
• 29 March 2024 – Rezzan Şengül 182 days
• 3 April 2024 – Vedat Doğan 177 days
• 17 April 2024 – Halil Yakut (100 days)
• 21 August 2024 – Mehmet Güvel (2 days) (Mehmet Güvel is 80 years old, a veteran of the Hunger Strike and a cancer patient).
• 20 October 2024 – Sercan Ahmet Arslan (243 days)
• 10 November 2024 – Serkan Onur Yılmaz (375 days)
• 13 November 2024 – Ferdi İşçi (72 days),
• Mulla Zincir (176 days)
• 19 December 2024 – Bakican Işık (180 days)
• 2 December 2024 – Ali Ülgü (62 days)
• 1 January 2025 – Yurdagül Gümüş (171 days)
• 6 January 2025 – Sadık Çelik (30 days)
• 13 February 2025 – Mithat Öztürk (191 days)
• 18 February 2025 – Ali Hasan Akgül (144 days)
• 18 February 2025 – Ali Aracı (199 days)
• 30 March 2025 – Fikret Akar (250 days)
• Berkin Berberoglu- 166 days
• Ümit Cobanoglu- 200 days

During these 250 days, Fikret Akar suffered numerous violations of his rights. Solidarity actions were organised in response.

As soon as he began his resistance, he experienced problems with vitamin B1 and sugar. As a protest action, B vitamins and sugar were sent to the prison, even though it was known they would not be allowed inside.

As the resistance approached the 200-day mark, the communication ban in Silivri, imposed months earlier, was enforced. Thus, for one month, there was no news from the hunger striker on an indefinite hunger strike.

When we heard from him again, his body had collapsed, and he had lost a lot of weight. This was because he could not eat or drink anything.

We witnessed that Fikret Akar’s body could not tolerate sugar and that he suffered from nausea and diarrhoea. We learned that because he could not take sugar, his source of energy, he was extremely cold.

The Ministry of Justice delegation, seeking to break the resistance, told Fikret Akar to ‘end the hunger strike’. Fikret Akar’s response was clear: ‘Get out of here.’

All attempts to break the resistance were shattered by the prisoners’ willpower.

This is the victory of an unbroken prison resistance, the inexhaustible struggle for justice, in combination with great examples of international solidarity!

Long live the Resistance to pit-like Isolation Prisons in Turkey!

Long live International Solidarity!

Greetings to all Prisoners in Resistance!