Lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan’s statement on midnight prison transfer: My right to defense has been rendered effectively unusable

Lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan announced in a statement on his social media account that he was transferred from Çorlu Karatepe High-Security Prison to Kandıra No. 1 F-Type Prison on the night of October 2.

Pehlivan’s statement was also reshared from Deniz Yavuzyılmaz’s X account.

Pehlivan stated that no "reasonable, legal, or concrete" justification was provided to him for the transfer, noting that he was informed the practice was "routine."

Explaining that he was woken up from his sleep in the middle of the night and told to pack his belongings in a short time, Pehlivan criticized being taken to another prison hundreds of kilometers away.

In his statement, Pehlivan noted that his hearings continue uninterrupted four days a week, arguing that being transferred to another city under these conditions has rendered his right to defense effectively unusable.

Let’s call it by its right name: This is not a routine practice. This is torment, this is oppression.

Pehlivan also reacted to the timing of the transfer, stating that if he had not been transferred, he would have seen his daughter during the open visitation, which he can only do once a month. He used the expressions, "Was this the purpose of the transfer being carried out in such a rush, specifically in the middle of the night? Did you want to prevent me from seeing my daughter, to hurt me?"

Stating that he made his statement from Kandıra No. 1 F-Type Prison, Pehlivan said, "Whether in judging or in the prisons where you lock people up, you are pursuing not justice, but torment and oppression."

News Source: 12punto