THE RESISTANCE AGAINST “WELL-TYPE” PRISONS

Prepared by TAYAD

(Association for Solidarity with the Families of Prisoners and Convicts)

In the resistance process, against both the “Pit (well)-type” prisons and the rights violations in F-type prisons,

WE HAVE WON VICTORY 30 TIMES!
WE HAVE DEFEATED FASCISM 30 TIMES!

We responded to the ideological extermination attacks with 45 acts of resistance!
We witnessed the highest form of comradeship; comradeship created at the cost of life!

We surrounded the new-type prisons, where fascism deliberately tried to instil fear, and we were the ones who overcame them!
First, we analysed their architecture, ideological and political purpose.
Then, we walked the path we knew: the path of resistance!

The line of resistance created new traditions and values and advanced what was backward!
Free captives declared that at the bottom of the “well” they would not become moss-covered stones,
they lived and inspired the honour of resistance!

The tradition of free captivity has passed through many perilous bridges.
Free Captives, under the leadership of a correct ideology, are ready for any difficult path, and even volunteer; they have pledged themselves to this path.

The attack on the well-type prisons has become, in the eyes of the enemy, the name of defeat!
Deep isolation has also been shattered!

The main contradiction is between imperialism and the peoples of the world. Revolutionaries will ultimately resolve this contradiction. The primary tool for targeting revolutionary ideology and revolutionaries by imperialists is prisons.

Imperialism captured revolutionary organizations in prisons in Iran and Uruguay. In Iran, TUDEH; in Uruguay, Tupamaros were defeated in prison. They abandoned armed struggle and became reformist.

Imperialism applies the same attack policies wherever revolutionary struggle develops,
but in Anatolia, it did not achieve its goal! In Anatolia, prisons became a battlefield where the will of revolutionaries, not fascism, prevailed!

From 1984, 1996, 2000–2007, 2020, and from 2023 to 2025, all attacks have been repelled by prisoners aligned with the revolutionary front. In the future, they will be repelled with the same ideological determination, clarity, and solidity.

The history of resistance against this ideological capture in prisons has been written at the cost of lives. Through death fasts — the most political act in the world — imperialism has been condemned to ideological defeat.
In all death fast resistances in our country, 142 martyrs were lost. These 142 martyrs are the fundamental strength of the ongoing resistance in well-type prisons.

The hope of the people of Turkey to resist is rooted in this history of victories.

After the Partition War II, realizing it could not survive without creating an imperialist world system, the U.S. empire targeted revolutionary organizations. The first targets were revolutionaries because they were the main obstacle to establishing the desired order.
Today, this attack in Turkey continues through well-type prisons.

WELL-TYPE PRISONS ARE IDEOLOGICAL WELLS!

They are centres of torture where isolation is intensified, and revolutionary prisoners are intended to be destroyed! Well-type prisons serve as a threat to all our people, both inside and outside.

The policy of imperialism:

1. Deepen isolation
2. Break organized people
3. Surround and suffocate what cannot be eliminated

Well-type prisons are not an architectural project but a tool of ideological attack!
The AKP fascism spent 63 billion dollars to ensure only revolutionary prisoners would surrender! They sold public assets worth 63 billion dollars and built 227 prisons. Total prison count now: 407.
The oligarchy, collaborators of imperialists, spent 63 billion dollars to capture a single revolutionary!

The history of revolutionary movements is not only about ideological defeat in Iran and Uruguay.
In Vietnam, revolutionaries were tried to be captured in “tiger cages” — 120 cages for 120 cadres.
We destroyed those cages and continued…

Even if you build 407 prisons, isolate each revolutionary in a single cell,
you will never make them surrender!

Resistance Against Well-Type Prisons

In 2022, for the first time, hundreds of PKK prisoners were transferred to well-type prisons! Hundreds of PKK prisoners were subjected to severe isolation torture in the well-type cells, yet not a single act of resistance was shown!

The reason for this lies in the PKK’s decades-long line in the prisons. This line extends from the 1996 Ulucanlar Massacre, where they said ‘We are not involved, sir,’ to the December 19–22, 2000 Prison Massacres, where the attitude was ‘We have shown that we are different from them (revolutionaries)’—a line of submission. This line is the same one that quietly submitted yesterday to F-Type prisons and today to well-type prisons

THE WELL-TYPE PRISONS DESERVE RESISTANCE AGAINST THEM!
BREAKING WELL-TYPE PRISONS IS ON THE SHOULDERS OF REVOLUTIONARY PRISONERS!

The Free Captives belong to the People’s Front were first transferred to well-type prisons in 2023. On February 6, 2023, 44 prisoners were exiled to S, R, and Y type prisons, before the wounds from the earthquakes in 11 provinces had even healed. While the whole world was focused on the earthquake in 11 provinces, the AKP fascism exploited the people’s suffering and silence to transfer 44 prisoners to well-type prisons.

The AKP government, unable to govern our country economically, politically, and militarily, brought the S, R, and Y well-type prisons into focus out of fear that the resisting Free Prisoners would give hope to the people. Until that time, well-type prisons were ‘UNKNOWN’ places. No information was available about them.

We learned from the Free Captives about the architecture of the well-type prisons, the tortures carried out there, and how isolation was deepened. They made the unknown known. They made the invisible visible and audible.

WE RESISTED IN PIT/WELL-TYPE PRISONS

EVERY RESISTANCE RESULTED IN VICTORY
A TOTAL OF 30 VICTORIES WON

The first encounter of Free Captives with Pit (well)-Type Prisons began in March 2020, when Şerif Turunç was exiled from Tekirdağ to İzmir Kırıklar. In a letter to his comrades, he described the prison: “Even the window doesn’t exist here; it’s like a grave.” With a 52-day hunger strike, Şerif Turunç delivered the first blow to Pit-Type Prisons, opening a significant breach.

From March 2023 onward, revolutionary prisoners exiled to Pit-Type Prisons embraced resistance from the very beginning. They made it clear to fascism that they could not be contained within these prisons.

Nedim Öztürk, Sezer Ergin, and Sezgin Zengin, transferred from Burhaniye T-Type Prison to Sincan No. 2 High Security Prison, began an indefinite hunger strike on May 1, 2023. While Sezer Ergin and Sezgin Zengin ended their strike after being transferred to other prisons, Nedim Öztürk, on the 138th day of his hunger strike, secured his transfer from Sincan High Security Pit-Type Prison to the L-Type prison on the same campus, achieving another victory on October 8, 2023.

Pit-Type Prisons are not only designed to punish revolutionaries but also to intimidate the people. The fascist state intended for prisoners to be broken in concrete coffins, eroding public trust in them and destroying hope.

When Hüseyin Karaoğlan was exiled from Edirne F-Type Prison to Sincan High Security Pit-Type Prison, he began a hunger strike on September 13, 2023. On the 143rd day, he won his struggle and secured transfer to Kandıra No. 2 F-Type Prison to join his comrades.

The resistance of Free Captives united with the efforts of friends, families, and allies outside, growing stronger and more visible. Revolutionary prisoners exiled across Anatolia declared that they would continue their struggle until Pit-Type Prisons were closed and the last prisoner removed.

On November 13, 2023, Bakican Işık and Sezgin Zengin, held in Sincan No. 2 High Security Prison, began an indefinite hunger strike in support of Free Captives’ resistance against S, R, and Y Pit-Type Prisons. On the 100th day, they voluntarily paused their strike.

In Erzurum Dumlu Prison, Nurettin Kaya, Mustafa Özgür Mulla, Cemil Kurt, and Alişan Gül became key figures of this resistance. On May 2, 2023, Nurettin Kaya, Mustafa Özgür Mulla, and Cemil Kurt began an indefinite hunger strike. After the prison administration promised to meet their demands, the strike was temporarily halted. When the administration broke its promise, Nurettin Kaya resumed his resistance on October 20, 2023. Mustafa Özgür Mulla was released on January 12, 2024.

After 273 days of death-fast resistance, Nurettin Kaya, alone, secured his transfer from Bolu F-Type Prison, and also ensured the removal of Cemil Kurt and Alişan Gül from Erzurum Dumlu Pit-Type Prison. This victory crowned the struggle against Pit-Type Prisons. Nurettin Kaya exemplified the highest values of friendship, comradeship, and loyalty. In a letter, he wrote: “Our resistance is too political to be personalized, too organized to be individualized.”

While Nurettin Kaya resisted for his comrades, his cousin Muammer Kaya also began an indefinite hunger strike in solidarity. Together, they achieved victory, with both their demands met.

Oktay Kelebek and Cem Dursun added a new link to the chain of victory with a 181-day hunger strike in Buca High Security Pit-Type Prison, completing their transfers successfully. Oktay Kelebek proudly declared, “We won the victory from the very moment we began the resistance.” They continued their strike in F-Type prisons after transfer, reinforcing their victory when 80-year-old, cancer-stricken Mehmet Güvel, forced to remain alone in Pit-Type, joined an indefinite hunger strike. Once again, comradeship shattered the deepened isolation of Pit-Type Prisons.

Imperialists and collaborator oligarchs attempted to isolate politically active prisoners, deepen their isolation, weaken the people, and surround those they could not eliminate. Yet, the revolutionaries—honourable children of Anatolia—tore this apart, dismantling the Pit-Type isolation prisons with their death-fast resistance. Their wall of resistance crushed the oppressors once more.

Rezzan Şengül, Vedat Doğan, and Halil Yakut also carried out indefinite hunger strikes in Kırşehir High Security Prison. Halil Yakut was released on the 100th day, July 25, 2024. Rezzan Şengül won on the 182nd day, and Vedat Doğan on the 177th day. Rezzan Şengül was released on September 26, 2024, while Vedat Doğan was transferred to Kırıkkale F-Type Prison to join comrades.

In Kırıkkale F-Type Prison, Ferdi İşçi and Mulla Zincir began an indefinite hunger strike on November 13, 2024, against the deprivation of their basic rights. Ferdi İşçi, wrongly labelled a “dangerous prisoner,” secured the removal of this status and won his strike on January 24, 2025.

Mulla Zincir continued his indefinite hunger strike in Buca High Security Prison with Sercan Ahmet Arslan against Pit-Type Prisons, ending it on the 176th day with his transfer to Kırıklar No. 2 F-Type Prison. Sercan Ahmet Arslan continued his strike for the transfer of sick prisoner Ufuk Keskin, lasting 243 days, also achieving victory.

Bakican Işık, held in Sincan No. 2 High Security Prison, began his strike on December 19, 2024. His mother, Yurdagül Gümüş, imprisoned in Marmara Closed Prison, joined in solidarity on January 1, 2025. After Bakican Işık’s transfer to Kandıra No. 2 F-Type Prison, they ended their strikes on June 20, 2025, on the 171st day. Bakican Işık ended his hunger strike victoriously on the 180th day.

On November 24, 2024, Grup Yorum member Ekimcan Yıldırım was imprisoned and isolated from comrades despite serious health issues. Free Captives Ali Ülgü (December 2, 2024), and İnan Gök and Sadık Çelik (January 6, 2025) began hunger strikes in solidarity, achieving victory in February 2024, when Ekimcan Yıldırım was transferred to his comrades.

DEV-GENÇ (Revolutionary Youth) member Ali Hasan Akgül began an indefinite hunger strike in Sincan No. 1 Pit-Type Prison on February 18, 2025, for the closure of Pit-Type Prisons. He won on the 144th day, July 11, 2025, and was released.

Mithat Öztürk began his strike in Sincan No. 2 High Security Prison on February 13, 2025, achieving victory on the 191st day, August 26, 2025. Ali Aracı began his indefinite hunger strike in Sincan No. 1 High Security Prison on February 18, 2025, winning and being transferred to Sincan No. 1 F-Type Prison. His sister Seval Aracı joined in solidarity, and they both won together.

Serkan Onur Yılmaz and Ayberk Demirdöğen began their resistance in Antalya Pit-Type Prison. Serkan Onur Yılmaz won his 213-day strike, transferring to Bolu F-Type Prison. Ayberk Demirdöğen was transferred to Kırıkkale F-Type Prison on the 98th day of his strike, achieving the first victory of their resistance. Even though they were victorious, to achieve the transfer of their eight other comrades at Antalya Pit-Type Prison to non-Pit-Type prisons, they turned their hunger strikes into death fasts.

In Antalya Pit-Type Prison, Ümit Çobanoğlu, Gürkan Türkoğlu, Hüseyin Özen, and Tahsin Sağaltıcı continue their indefinite hunger strikes. Fikret Akar in Çorlu Pit-Type began his strike on March 30, 2025.

In Kırıkkale F-Type Prison, Fırat Kaya, Cemil Kurt, Ulaş İnci, and Nazım Şafak Korkmaz began indefinite hunger strikes demanding an end to oppressive conditions. Fırat Kaya’s resistance achieved the removal of block isolation. The struggle continues.

Ali Dilmen began an indefinite hunger strike on August 11, 2025, to secure treatment for sick prisoner Ufuk Keskin.

Murat Canım began a hunger strike on August 20, 2025, in solidarity with the Palestinian people against Israeli attacks. Berkin Berberoğlu, in Sincan Pit-Type, has surpassed 130 days of hunger strike.

Mahir Doğan, in Silivri No. 6 L-Type Prison, was forcibly moved to a single cell on August 25, 2025. He began an indefinite hunger strike demanding return to comrades. His demand was accepted on September 15, 2025, and he won.

Doğan Karataştan and Ahmet Arslan began an indefinite hunger strike in October 2025, supporting Fikret Akar.

Ali Yücel in Greece (August 29, 2025) and Ahmet Çiçek in the Netherlands (October 10, 2025) began indefinite hunger strikes in solidarity, demanding closure of Pit-Type Prisons.

Victory Against Imperialism and Oligarchy 30 victories!

Imperialism and fascism are confronted: Your NATO armies, contracts, drones, missiles, bombs, hunger, sieges, embargoes, invasions, looting, well-type prisons — bring it on!

Physical force has been defeated by ideological power, and it will continue to be defeated!
A system historically corrupt and politically dead is destined to collapse.
A system that is an enemy of the people cannot survive.

Once again, we have made you experience defeat in well-type prisons!
Historically and politically, we are just and legitimate!
We broke the tiger cages, demolished the well-type prisons!
Your isolation, your tyranny, has crashed into the wall of resistance!

In well-type prisons:

• No air, no sun, no human voice!
• But there are revolutionary prisoners, resistance, and we are here!
  We are right, we will win!

SERKAN ONUR YILMAZ:

“We have experienced everything that could possibly be experienced —
attacks, torture, threats of forced intervention…
There is nothing left to endure.
From now on, the only thing we will experience
has one name:
Victory.”

The only undefeated commander is resistance!

We call on all our people to be part of this resistance!

LONG LIVE RESISTANCE, LONG LIVE VICTORY!