Human Rights and Equality Institution of Türkiye inspected İstanbul Maltepe L Type Closed Penitentiary Institution no. 3 and met with the convicts at iftar dinner.
HREIT Delegation consisting of Chairman Süleyman Arslan, Board Members Cemil Kılıç, Dilek Ertürk, Prof. Dr. Halil Kalabalık, Harun Mertoğlu, Mehmet Altuntaş, and Mehmet Emin Genç met İstanbul Governor Vasip Şahin before beginning the inspections.
The delegation which came to the prison met with the convicts in wards for some time.
The delegation and the convicts then had their iftar dinners in the dining hall with the food prepared by the convicts.
HREIT Chairman Süleyman Arslan said that they make visits to prisons as required by the Institution's National Preventive Mechanism Against Torture and Ill-Treatment mandate, enter wards accompanied by experts,meet with inmates and detainees and listen to their problems and make observations. Chairman Arslan stated that during their meetings with the convicts, they inspect the prison conditions by interviewing convicts one by one.
Mentioning that they turn their findings into a report and communicate them with prison administrations or the Ministry of Justice as necessary, Arslan continued:
"We are working to ensure people who are detained here live their lives with dignity. Our work is not limited to this. We have the power to inspect every place where a human rights violation might take place outside too. We also have the power to make investigations regarding discrimination. Within this scope, we are working to ensure that people are not discriminated against on any grounds such as language, religion, race, philosophical view, health, marital status. Our citizens should know that HREIT is here working for them and for their rights not to be violated."
The delegation took a souvenir photo with the convicts after the iftar dinner and inspections.