Diyarbakır Prison
| Location | Diyarbakır, Turkey |
|---|---|
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | D-type and E-type |
| Capacity | 688 (D-type), 744 (E-type) |
| Opened | 1980 |
| Managed by | Directorate General of Penitentiaries, Ministry of Justice |
Diyarbakır Prison (Turkish: Diyarbakır Cezaevi; Kurdish: Girtîgeha Amedê) is a prison located in Diyarbakır, southeastern Turkey. It was established in 1980 as an E-type prison by the Ministry of Justice. After the September 12, 1980 Turkish coup d'état, the facility was transferred to military administration and became a Martial Law Military Prison (Turkish: Sıkıyönetim Askeri Cezaevi). Control of the prison was returned to the Ministry of Justice on May 8, 1988.
The capacity of Diyarbakır E-type Prison is 744. However, the prison is sometimes overcrowded. When the Human Rights Commission in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (GNAT) visited the prison in October 1996 it had a capacity of 650 and was accommodating 942 prisoners. Diyarbakır D-type prison, which is provided for political prisoners can hold 688 persons.
What has been called "the period of barbarity" (tr: vahşet dönemi) or "the hell of Diyarbakır" (tr: Diyarbakır cehennemi), refers to the early and mid-1980s (in particular the years between 1981–1984) where the prisoners in the newly built Diyarbakır Military Prison No. 5 were exposed to horrific acts of systematic torture. According to The Times, it is among the "ten most notorious jails in the world." Between 1981 and 1984, 34 prisoners lost their lives.
In August, 2009, plans were announced to convert the facility into a school. The idea was criticized by Kurdish activists who wanted the prison to become a museum to human rights abuses. Although construction on a larger prison outside of the city has already begun, no decision over what to do with the existing Diyarbakir prison has been made. Kurdish activists and politicians find their plans for a human rights museum, known as the "Museum of Shame," largely ignored by the state government. As of now, Diyarbakır is still a functioning prison.
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