9. Turkey
Prison population: 174.460
In 2015, Turkey had 222 prisoners per 100.000 residents, which is a threefold increase compared to 2000. Despite prisoners’ influx, the number of inmates slightly exceeds prison capacity, and current occupancy level is 101.7 percent, which is the lowest among countries on this list. Still, Turkish correction system has many flaws including severe violation of prisoners’ human rights. Kurds, which represent the largest minority in Turkey, are often subjected to torture and sexual abuse in penal institutions.
Three years ago Turkish newspaper reported on alleged sexual abuse of Kurdish children in juvenile detention center Pozanti, where children were held because of offenses such as illegal assembly or throwing stones. According to different sources, children were beaten, tortured and raped. After information about Pozanti had reached the public, authorities closed juvenile center and moved child inmates into Ankara’s Sincan Prison. However, the problem didn’t end here as many fear that similar patterns of abuse happen in other penal institutions across the country.
