Silivri Prison
Encyclopedia
Silivri Prison or officially Silivri Penitentiaries Campus is a high-security
state correctional institution complex in the Silivri
district of Istanbul Province
in Turkey
. Established in 2008, it is the country's most modern and Europe
's largest penal facility.
As of June 5, 2008, a total of 96,760 defendant
s and convict
s were detained in Turkey. 11,148 of them were held in ten correctional facilities of closed and open type within Istanbul Province. Following the opening of Silivri Prison, which has a capacity of nearly 11,000 inmates, the number of inmates in all Istanbul's prisons reached 15,910.
The prison complex is located 9 km (5.6 mi) west of Silivri on the highway , which connects the highway to the European Motorway .
for an effective penal system.
The construction of Silivri Prison began in 2005, and it took three years to complete. Covering an area of 437000 m² (4,703,828.9 sq ft) and stretching over 955354 m² (10,283,344.9 sq ft) land, the prison complex is composed of nine blocks, one open and eight L-type closed correctional institutions having a total capacity for 10,904 inmates.
Each of the eight L-type closed correctional blocks consists of 61 units for up to 21 inmates, four rooms for three and 40 single rooms. Single rooms or rooms for three are 12.45 m² (134 sq ft), open courtyards are 65.19 m² (701.7 sq ft), the intercommunity unit is 56.59 m² (609.1 sq ft), and the unit that accommodates up to 21 people is 208.93 m² (2,248.9 sq ft). Each section has an aerial input for TV, a radio, a small kitchen, a power socket and an alarm button to call for prison staff in case of emergency.
The nine blocks are separate reachable beyond the main entrance and are also independently administered by separate directors and their own staff. Each block has three separate gates, one for defendants and convicts, one for personnel, lawyers and visitors and another one for material.
The complex has a parking lot for 1,500 cars, a waiting lounge at the entrance for visitors, a health care institution, a mosque
, six classrooms, eight vocational training workshops, two open-air sports grounds, an indoor sports center, a library, a shopping market, a day-care center, a restaurant, 500 staff accommodations and social facilities. Six power distribution units and two water stations supply the facility. For hearings with a high number of defendants or convicts of high security risk, two courtrooms, office rooms for judges and prosecutors are also available inside the campus.
Around 17,000 people including 2,000 service people and 1,500 vsitors sojourn in the complex daily. It is reported that the cost of the construction was around 100 million TRL
(approx. US$67 million).
Every person, even prison director, prosecutor
or visitor, is screened by x-ray device
s before entering the waiting hall. The device is monitored on two separate displays. Additionally, high-resolution images of the irides
of the eyes of the people, prison personnel's once only and the visitors' each time, are recorded for authentication by iris recognition
.
A picture of every inmate is fixed on the outer wall of his cell. Inmates can lock up the door of their cells from the inside to protect themselves against attacks. The cell door can be opened with guard's key. The inmates can also alarm the prison security by pushing a button on the cell wall.
For the outdoor security of the facility, gendarmerie units are responsible.
other than of drug-related crime
. The penal reform aiming at improvement of activities like education and training, penological rehabilitation
and psychosocial rehabilitation services is fulfilled in Silivri Prison.
Right after the completion of the complex, around 3,500 of the 5,500 inmates of the 40-years old Bayrampaşa Prison were transferred to Silivri. The relocation of the defendants and the convicts charged for crimes like drug offense, theft
, murder
or robbery
started on June 6, 2008.
formed by former and active military and security officers, politicians, journalists, academics and mafia leaders, who allegedly attempted to overthrow the government is being held since October 20, 2008 in the purpose built Silivri Prison courtroom.
However, as the number of defendants and hence the number of lawyers attending the hearings increased in process of the trial, the existing courtroom became unsatisfactory. In June 2009, the prison's sport hall was converted for the term of the trial into a maxi courtroom with a capacity for 753 people including defendants, witnesses, lawyers, spectators and the press members. A box with railing, sufficient large for 180 defendants, is situated in the middle of the courtroom.
Meanwhile, the former courtroom, with an original capacity for 203 people, was also enlarged to hold 405 people.
Supermax
Supermax is the name used to describe "control-unit" prisons, or units within prisons, which represent the most secure levels of custody in the prison systems of certain countries...
state correctional institution complex in the Silivri
Silivri
Silivri is a city and a district in Istanbul Province along the Sea of Marmara in Turkey, outside of metropolitan Istanbul, containing many holiday and weekend homes for residents of the city. The largest city in the district is also named Silivri...
district of Istanbul Province
Istanbul Province
Istanbul Province is a province located in north-west Turkey. It has an area of 5,196 km² and a population of 13,255,685. The population was 10,018,735 in 2000. It is surrounded by the provinces of Tekirdağ to the west, Kocaeli to the east, the Black Sea to the northern part and the Sea of...
in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. Established in 2008, it is the country's most modern and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
's largest penal facility.
As of June 5, 2008, a total of 96,760 defendant
Defendant
A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...
s and convict
Convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
s were detained in Turkey. 11,148 of them were held in ten correctional facilities of closed and open type within Istanbul Province. Following the opening of Silivri Prison, which has a capacity of nearly 11,000 inmates, the number of inmates in all Istanbul's prisons reached 15,910.
The prison complex is located 9 km (5.6 mi) west of Silivri on the highway , which connects the highway to the European Motorway .
Prison complex
The need for a prison located far from the inhabited areas became necessary as Istanbul's biggest prison, the Bayrampaşa Prison, although built in the mid 1960s in the outskirts, remained within the city limits due to the city's rapid expansion. Another important reason was to abandon outdated facilities in accordance with the initiated prison reformPrison reform
Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, aiming at a more effective penal system.-History:Prisons have only been used as the primary punishment for criminal acts in the last couple of centuries...
for an effective penal system.
The construction of Silivri Prison began in 2005, and it took three years to complete. Covering an area of 437000 m² (4,703,828.9 sq ft) and stretching over 955354 m² (10,283,344.9 sq ft) land, the prison complex is composed of nine blocks, one open and eight L-type closed correctional institutions having a total capacity for 10,904 inmates.
Each of the eight L-type closed correctional blocks consists of 61 units for up to 21 inmates, four rooms for three and 40 single rooms. Single rooms or rooms for three are 12.45 m² (134 sq ft), open courtyards are 65.19 m² (701.7 sq ft), the intercommunity unit is 56.59 m² (609.1 sq ft), and the unit that accommodates up to 21 people is 208.93 m² (2,248.9 sq ft). Each section has an aerial input for TV, a radio, a small kitchen, a power socket and an alarm button to call for prison staff in case of emergency.
The nine blocks are separate reachable beyond the main entrance and are also independently administered by separate directors and their own staff. Each block has three separate gates, one for defendants and convicts, one for personnel, lawyers and visitors and another one for material.
The complex has a parking lot for 1,500 cars, a waiting lounge at the entrance for visitors, a health care institution, a mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
, six classrooms, eight vocational training workshops, two open-air sports grounds, an indoor sports center, a library, a shopping market, a day-care center, a restaurant, 500 staff accommodations and social facilities. Six power distribution units and two water stations supply the facility. For hearings with a high number of defendants or convicts of high security risk, two courtrooms, office rooms for judges and prosecutors are also available inside the campus.
Around 17,000 people including 2,000 service people and 1,500 vsitors sojourn in the complex daily. It is reported that the cost of the construction was around 100 million TRL
Turkish lira
The Turkish lira is the currency of Turkey and the de facto independent state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The lira is subdivided into 100 kuruş...
(approx. US$67 million).
Security
In the prison, which is equipped with state-of-the-art security devices at the checkpoints, 134 staff personnel are employed. At the entrances and exits, there are eye-sensitive doors and x-ray devices for biometric electronic scan.Every person, even prison director, prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
or visitor, is screened by x-ray device
Security scan
A full-body scanner is a device that creates an image of a person's nude body through their clothing to look for hidden objects without physically removing their clothes or making physical contact...
s before entering the waiting hall. The device is monitored on two separate displays. Additionally, high-resolution images of the irides
Iris (anatomy)
The iris is a thin, circular structure in the eye, responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupils and thus the amount of light reaching the retina. "Eye color" is the color of the iris, which can be green, blue, or brown. In some cases it can be hazel , grey, violet, or even pink...
of the eyes of the people, prison personnel's once only and the visitors' each time, are recorded for authentication by iris recognition
Iris recognition
Iris recognition is an automated method of biometric identification that uses mathematical pattern-recognition techniques on video images of the irides of an individual's eyes, whose complex random patterns are unique and can be seen from some distance....
.
A picture of every inmate is fixed on the outer wall of his cell. Inmates can lock up the door of their cells from the inside to protect themselves against attacks. The cell door can be opened with guard's key. The inmates can also alarm the prison security by pushing a button on the cell wall.
For the outdoor security of the facility, gendarmerie units are responsible.
Inmates
With the establishment of modern correctional facilities in Turkey, defendants and convicts are detained in different prisons classified after the type of crime. In Silivri Prison, a separate wing is assigned to male criminals between 18 and 21 years of age convicted of juvenile delinquencyJuvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency is participation in illegal behavior by minors who fall under a statutory age limit. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not...
other than of drug-related crime
Drug-Related Crime
In the United States, Illegal drugs are related to crime in multiple ways. Most directly, it is a crime to use, possess, manufacture, or distribute drugs classified as having a potential for abuse...
. The penal reform aiming at improvement of activities like education and training, penological rehabilitation
Rehabilitation (penology)
Rehabilitation means; To restore to useful life, as through therapy and education or To restore to good condition, operation, or capacity....
and psychosocial rehabilitation services is fulfilled in Silivri Prison.
Right after the completion of the complex, around 3,500 of the 5,500 inmates of the 40-years old Bayrampaşa Prison were transferred to Silivri. The relocation of the defendants and the convicts charged for crimes like drug offense, theft
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
, murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
or robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
started on June 6, 2008.
Ergenekon trial
The trial of the Ergenekon gang, an alleged clandestine networkClandestine cell system
A clandestine cell structure is a method for organizing a group of people in such a way that it can more effectively resist penetration by an opposing organization. Depending on the group's philosophy, its operational area, the communications technologies available, and the nature of the mission,...
formed by former and active military and security officers, politicians, journalists, academics and mafia leaders, who allegedly attempted to overthrow the government is being held since October 20, 2008 in the purpose built Silivri Prison courtroom.
Maxi courtroom
For high security reasons, Siiivri Prison Complex was chosen to host the Ergenekon trial. In order to avoid the risky and time-consuming transportation of the confined suspects to a courthouse in 80 km (49.7 mi) away Istanbul, the hearings are held at the courtroom inside the prison complex.However, as the number of defendants and hence the number of lawyers attending the hearings increased in process of the trial, the existing courtroom became unsatisfactory. In June 2009, the prison's sport hall was converted for the term of the trial into a maxi courtroom with a capacity for 753 people including defendants, witnesses, lawyers, spectators and the press members. A box with railing, sufficient large for 180 defendants, is situated in the middle of the courtroom.
Meanwhile, the former courtroom, with an original capacity for 203 people, was also enlarged to hold 405 people.
Notable inmates
- Mustafa Levent GöktaşMustafa Levent GöktasMustafa Levent Göktaş is a Turkish colonel, who took part in the 1999 operation to catch Abdullah Öcalan, the leader of the Kurdish militant organization PKK. In January 2009, Göktaş was detained in the Ergenekon investigation....
, retired Colonel of Special Forces CommandÖzel Jandarma Komando BölügüThe Özel Jandarma Komando Bölüğü is the special forces unit of the Turkish Jandarma . It has several missions which include counter-terrorist actions, hostage rescue, riot control, and other high-threat criminal actions. Members of the unit receive extensive training at the Jandarma School at... - Veli Küçük, retired Brigadier General of Turkish Gendarmerie
- Doğu PerinçekDogu PerinçekDoğu Perinçek is a Turkish politician, leader of the Workers' Party , a scientific socialist organization, and former chairman of the Workers' Party . His first name Doğu means "East" in Turkish.-Personal life:...
, leader of the Turkish Workers Party - İbrahim ŞahinIbrahim Sahinİbrahim Şahin is a Turkish police and state security official who served from 1976 to 1996. He led General Directorate of Security's special forces unit, the Special Operations Department and, following dismissal in 1996 for associating with ultra-nationalist drug trafficker and contact killer...
, retired police chief - Ali YasakAli YasakAli Yasak , better known as Drej Ali , is one of Turkey's most renowned criminals.He was involved in the Susurluk scandal....
, organized crime boss, involved in the Susurluk scandalSusurluk scandalThe Susurluk scandal was a scandal involving the close relationship between the Turkish government, the armed forces, and organized crime. It took place during the peak of the Turkey–Kurdistan Workers' Party conflict, in the mid-1990s...