Corona festers behind bars in Turkish prisons

Indiana Khaled

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues to use the novel corona virus to tighten his dictatorial grip on his government, with the aim of completely terminating his opponents.

On Wednesday, March 25, Turkish authorities arrested more than 400 citizens, alleging that they had made “provocative” posts on social media regarding the spread of the corona virus in the country, at a time when countries around the world are combating the virus by reducing their prison populations.

According to Reuters, Turkey’s interior minister said that about 2,000 accounts has been identified posting such content on social media sites, which he accused unnamed militant groups of being behind, adding that the ministry’s forces arrested 410 people.

Corona knocks on prison doors

The Turkish opposition newspaper Zaman on March 25 revealed the corona virus had entered the prisons, as a 70-year-old inmate was infected. The newspaper warned of a catastrophe if Turkish prisons are turned into a hotbed of the epidemic, as calls by the opposition to reduce the prison population have been completely disregarded.

Turkey is tightening the process of monitoring social media, and the authorities are arresting anyone who posts negative information about the spread of the corona virus in the country.

Following the outbreak of the corona virus in China and the death of many people, the Turkish government faced widespread criticism on social media for not taking the necessary measures to prevent the virus’s transmission to the country, Turkish newspaper Yeniçağ reported.

Repression

Dr. Bashir Abdel Fattah, a researcher specializing in Turkish affairs at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, told the Reference that Erdogan is pursuing a policy of repression against the opposition, which has been leveling severe criticisms against the Turkish president because of the mismanagement of the corona crisis, the slowness in taking precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus, and the lack of information on the number of infection cases.

The Turkish president arresting citizens for expressing their views while the world is reducing the number of prisoners inside prisons to prevent the spread of corona indicates that the Erdogan regime is currently suffering from confusion, according to Abdel Fattah. Erdogan is attempting to hide his complete failure to manage the corona crisis by increasing the detention of citizens, which could lead to the prisons becoming a focal point for the spread of corona.

Arresting citizens amounts to terrorism against them in order to silence them and prevent them from talking about the regime’s corruption, Abdel Fattah said, noting that the opposition may pressure Erdogan to release these detainees in the coming days.