One family of three had a two-year-old child. They had been detained for 150 days. The parents said their child had
never been to the playroom despite many requests, but that they had no problem in getting out into the fresh air.
They had evidently not been told that the playroom was for children aged three to seven only.
The suspected terrorist unit
We went into several rooms in the suspected terrorist unit and spent some time speaking to the men privately. The
first room we entered had seven men in it and seven beds. The men confirmed that when they first arrived, they went
through an x-ray machine, were searched with clothes on and that their money was placed in a safe. The NPM
coordinator asked staff, including the director, to leave rooms to ensure that private conversations with monitors
could take place. As in the family unit, most of the people we met were unhappy and frustrated.
The men said they could go outside once or twice a day, but had not had access to the sports hall for several months.
They said the Arabic books were very old. They had asked for pens, Turkish classes and books. Pencils and pens were
not allowed in detainees’ possession anywhere in the centre. The men also said they had no pastimes such as cards or
games to play (see director’s comments on these issues below). Several men said they did not know why they were
being held and many complained about the quality of representation. The NPM coordinator said he could not interfere
with the legal process and that he wanted instead to know about treatment in the centre and access to legal support
in line with the NPM’s remit. He advised the men to talk to their lawyers about other matters. All were paying for
lawyers privately. A number of detainees said the DGMM was not keeping them up to date with their cases. In these
cases, the NPM coordinator advised them how to complain. The detainees reported no concerns about the director of
his staff, and the director was apparently willing to speak to them when they asked to see him.
In the second room we entered, there were six beds. A man said he had been tortured in a different institution by
police and had complained formally; the result of this complaint was not offered. He had been in the Gaziantep centre
for more than two months and had no complaints about his treatment there. Another man had been 13 months in
prison and two months in the removal centre. He said they could spend 10-15 minutes on the telephones. He had
visitors who came from Istanbul and the visits were very short. He said the shop was expensive, e.g. 13.5TL for a small
bottle of olive oil. The NPM coordinator later went to the shop and questioned the man running it about his prices. The
man insisted that he did not charge so much and offered to show his price lists and receipts to prove that he had not
been over-charging.
14
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