11/12/2025 | Writer: Kaos GL
According to the accounts of the lawyers who visited the prisoners, the medical team did not arrive at the scene for a long time. The rope the prisoner was found hanging from had not previously been in the room.
Rights violations against trans prisoners are once again on the agenda. According to a report by Eylem Esen Arabacı from Pink Life; a trans male prisoner named Poyraz was found dead in the ward at Sincan Prison. Following the death, the prosecutor arrived at the prison two days later for an examination; witness statements were not taken.
After the suspicious death, severe rights violations regarding the conditions in the prison also came to light.
Lawyers who visited the prisoners also shared with KaosGL.org what trans prisoners—who have long been held in isolation-told them.
The medical team did not arrive for a long time
According to the information provided by the lawyers; four trans male prisoners at Sincan Prison have long been kept under isolation conditions. On the day these four prisoners were taken collectively to the psychiatry service, a new person was transferred to their ward; the prisoners stated that when they returned, they found this person hanging.
According to the prisoners, they tried to intervene first by cutting the rope with a lighter. After the guards were called, chaos erupted in the room, yet the medical team did not arrive for a long time.
The rope he was hanging from was not in the room
The prisoners stated that the person’s pulse was very weak at first, that his hair had been shaved, and that it was unknown how a rope that was not present in the room had been brought inside. Lawyers visiting the prisoners also noted that some guards said things like “He already had problems” after the incident.
The lawyers expressed what the prisoners told them as follows:
“According to what the trans prisoners said; after the incident the guards were called, there was chaos in the room, and the medical team would not come. They said the prisoner’s pulse was very weak at first and that he looked very bad with his hair shaved. The rope was also not one that belonged in the room; it is unknown how it was brought into the room. The incident does not look like a suicide. The rope was not in the room, the newly transferred person’s hair was shaved, and the 4 trans prisoners were taken to the psychiatrist together for the first time.”
The director transferred from Bakırköy began discriminatory practices against trans prisoners
Lawyers stated that the prison director, who took office a few months ago and came from Bakırköy, initiated discriminatory practices against trans prisoners. They noted that prisoners were frequently asked questions such as “How do you feel?”, “What is your orientation?”, and that those who said “I am not heterosexual” were treated differently.
Even having short hair has become grounds for transfer to separate wards
Even the fact that prisoners’ hair is short has become grounds for transferring them to separate wards, and it was reported that some prisoners abandoned their gender-affirmation process entirely for this reason:“Even having short hair has become a reason for keeping prisoners separate. Other trans people in other wards have abandoned their processes for this reason.”
A document was signed without being read to the trans prisoners, and one prisoner attempted suicide
Lawyers stated that one of the four trans prisoners also recently attempted suicide. According to their account, the prisoners also said they were made to sign a document without being allowed to read it, and that this document contained a statement saying, “I want to be held separately because of my gender identity”:
“The prisoners say a document was made for them to sign without reading it, and this document contains the statement ‘I want to be held separately because of my gender identity.’ Anyone who signs this document is kept separately. Access to hormones and access to hospital needs have been blocked.”
Tags: human rights, media, lgbti
