MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

 Amed- Sidar Varlu (25), who was detained in Mardin’s Nisêbîn (Nusaybin) district in 2016 when she was just 16 years old. She was then sentenced to 22 years in prison. Three months ago, she was transferred from the Elazığ Prison to the Erzincan Women's Closed Prison.

“If anything happens to me (in the prison), hold the prison administration responsible,” she said in her last phone call with her mother, Hava Varlu, reporting that she had been subjected to both physical, psychological violence in the prison.

‘She is threatened with death’

“My daughter is threatened with death by wardens,” said Hava Varlu, giving details about her last phone call with her daughter. “My daughter told me that the wardens had inflicted both psychological and physical violence against her. Now, she is held in a cell alone. The wardens told her, ‘You will see what will happen to you,” when they took her to the cell. Sidar told me to hold the prison administration responsible if anything happens to her. She also told me that she is often threatened with death by the officials in the prison.”

‘She has health problems’

Hava Varlu told us that her daughter suffered from many health problems; however, she was denied access to treatment. “She underwent an operation on her gum to remove a cyst. Now, she has only front teeth, facing difficulty eating something. She also suffers from a blood infection; however, she is not transferred to hospital for treatment. She is just given painkillers.”

Hava Varlu called on human rights organizations to take urgent action for her daughter. “Prisoners are subjected to rights violations every day. Something must be done to end this.”