Pregnant female judge held in prison in dire conditions speaks out

Child's hands handcuffed

Date posted: December 9, 2016

In his Sunday column, Turkish veteran columnist Mr Çölaşan included a letter from a female judge who is being held in a prison in Mersin’s Tarsus province.

What follows is the translation of a letter Çölaşan has published in order to spread the word.

“I have been going through very difficult times. I was 16-weeks pregnant. I got through all this with my unborn baby.

We are 14 judges and prosecutors in the holding cell who were all removed from their professions. It has been more than two months since I was arrested. Only one doctor is responsible for hundreds of arrestees and inmates. The doctor works only on Thursday afternoons.

Now it is the 27th week of my pregnancy. This is my first pregnancy.

We go to see the doctor with our hands cuffed. It is good enough for me to see the doctor say my baby is OK. It doesn’t even come to my mind to ask about its weight, height and how it looks like.

Sometimes, I burst into tears.

Believe me, I don’t care about anything. What hurts me most is that my baby is growing in such dire conditions.. We both get through difficult days.

In fact, I am one of the lucky ladies in custody as my husband is not arrested.

The reason for me to write this letter is to make our voice heard…

Tarsus Prison”