Six prisoners in a prison in Turkey’s central province of Kırıkkale have been on hunger strike for 13 days protesting against human rights violations and psychological pressures inflicted by the prison administration.

Baran Gül, one of the detainees held in the prison located near the capital city of Ankara, announced the commencement of the hunger strike on 12 June, in response to the prison administration’s non-compliance with Turkey’s prison regulations and the isolation imposed on the inmates.

Gül told Mezopotamya Agency that they are determined to continue the hunger strike until their demands are met, even if it costs them their lives. “If people die here, the responsibility lies with the administration, particularly the prison governor,” he said. “We are ready to pay the price.”

The inmates are held in separate blocks in the prison, where they are regularly subjected to raids by prison officers, and arbitrarily moved from ward to ward. Furthermore, the inmates are prevented from communicating with each other, denied access to their weekly exercise hour and deprived of adequate drinking water.