Özgül Emre, a revolutionary journalist from Turkey, is currently being held as a political prisoner in Germany. Today, she is once again facing repression by German imperialism in prison.
The administration of JVA Bielefeld-Brackwede Prison has recently escalated its campaign of isolation against her by banning all correspondence written in her mother tongue, Turkish. This language ban is not an isolated administrative measure. It is a direct attack on her fundamental human rights, intended to strip her of her revolutionary identity and sever her ties with her comrades, friends and family.
Özgül Emre has previously been subjected to repression when the prison administration attempted to force her to wear a prison uniform. She refused and began a hunger strike in resistance, ultimately winning a victory. This latest attack forms part of the general policy of German imperialism towards revolutionaries. Through the criminalisation of political activity under repressive laws such as Sections 129a and 129b, Germany systematically targets anti-imperialists, anti-fascists and revolutionaries.
These methods of German imperialism are the very same methods of repression employed by the fascist state in Turkey. By restricting Özgül Emre’s fundamental right to communicate in her native language, Germany is using the same methods of state repression, racism and cultural erasure.
The methods used against Özgül Emre in Germany mirror the brutal isolation policies imposed by the Turkish state. Across Turkey, the newly introduced S-R-Y-Type high-security prisons are being used as instruments of political repression and destruction.
In both Germany and Turkey, the objectives of these prison systems are identical:
- To confine political prisoners in solitary confinement or under severe isolation in order to break their morale.
- To impose bans on prisoners’ native languages, confiscate political and revolutionary literature, and restrict correspondence and visits.
- To force revolutionaries into submission by denying them basic human dignity and meaningful human contact.
The attack on Özgül Emre in Germany and the introduction of S-R-Y-Type prisons in Turkey are two sides of the same imperialist and fascist assault on political prisoners.
We demand the immediate lifting of the language ban imposed on Özgül Emre’s correspondence and the restoration of her right to communicate in her mother tongue. We also demand an end to the criminalisation of revolutionaries in Germany and the immediate repeal of Sections 129a and 129b.
We call upon all revolutionary, anti-imperialist and anti-fascist organisations to raise their voices, organise actions, and stand in solidarity with Özgül Emre and all political prisoners resisting isolation.
ISOLATION WILL NOT BREAK THE WILL OF REVOLUTIONARIES!
ÖZGÜL EMRE IS NOT ALONE!
IMMEDIATELY LIFT THE LANGUAGE BAN!
LONG LIVE INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY!
Anti-Imperialist Front
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