TURKEY : Amnesty International's Secretary General meets representatives of Prisoner's Solidarity Committee

Amnesty International's Secretary General reminded the Turkish delegation that the organization does not take action under pressure or threat from either governments or political groups, emphasizing that the organization's credibility lies in its independence.

The Secretary General reiterated the concerns that the organization has repeatedly raised with the Turkish government on issues such as the regimes of solitary confinement and small-group isolation of prisoners accused or convicted of politically motivated offences, and the allegations of torture and ill-treatment of prisoners.

In a letter sent to the Turkish authorities at the end of March 2001, Amnesty International urged the authorities to end the regimes of isolation and to ensure that prisoners be allowed to associate with other prisoners .

The Secretary General regretted that prisoners have died as a result of the hunger strike and stressed to the delegates that the situation of human rights in Turkey remains a top priority for the organization.