(en) UK Brisbane Anarchist Direct Action & Solidarity Syndicate:
Solidarity campaign for trans prisoner in Turkey
Anarchist women in Turkey have called for a letter campaign for a trans woman prisoner
held in a men's prison. The woman, Esra Arıkan, is being imprisoned with guards who have
repeatedly sexually assaulted her and may be suicidal. ---- Trans prisoner Esra has been
imprisoned for 11 years in men's prisons in Turkey. She has written that the judge gave
her a life sentence for a crime she did not commit because of bias. Esra has been in
solitary confinement for the last nine years. She has been sexually attacked throughout
her time in prison. Now, prison wardens have returned Esra to the prison where guards
repeatedly sexually assaulted her. ---- In a 2014 letter to anarchist newspaper Meydan,
Esra explained that she collected the guard's sperm from her body in the wake of one
attack. She then filed charges against the guard. Courts detained the guard for one year
until a judge ruled that the attack was "consensual." After the attack, Esra was
transferred to another prison. Now, officials have transferred her back to the prison
where guards attacked her.
"Esra is demanding to be transferred to a women's prison," said Nergis Sen, a member of
the group Anarchist Women. Nergis has been corresponding with Esra. "She can't do anything
in the prison she is in. Because she's trans, she can't go to her weekly time in the chat
area. She can't go to the library or the gym. Esra has stomach problems because of the
stress and she is not getting regular treatment.
"She has found this difficult and she can't keep going. She's thinking of harming herself.
Esra has attempted suicide before; she only survived through surgery."
Anarchist women, human rights groups and LGBTI groups have begun a letter-writing campaign
to Esra.
http://jinha.com.tr/en/ALL-NEWS/content/view/29522
