The first letter Necati Henden wrote from Kandıra F-Type prison reached his family on December 19, 2011. The letter, a copy of which is included in the blog his family has set up, includes a sketch of the one-person cell he spent his first three weeks.
As you can see, I live in a small hole like this…Don’t worry about me too much; you won’t be able to see me around for a couple of months until my [first] trial hearing. I went to do research in a [strange] place that has no phones, Internet, technology or humans. When I return I will be more knowledgeable as a result of this research. In this place, communication by sending letters has just been established, and phones have just been invented…. To cut a long story short, I am one of those that “ the state [mercifully] looks after and feeds in jail rather than executes by hanging” [a reference to an infamous quote by the leader of the September 12, 1980 junta].Translator’s note (M. Pamir): Necati Henden is 19 years old. He is a 2-year student at the Department of Communications Design at Kocaeli University. He is charged with “praising a criminal and a crime,” and “membership in a terrorist organization.” He is in prison since November 22, 2011. His lawyer submits that the reason he is arrested is because he participated in a commemoration of Deniz Gezmis [the revolutionary activist who was tried in Martial Law Court and executed in 1972], he took part in anti-government demonstrations in the town of Hopa, and because he organized a press release against the price hikes in transportation fees. He has a diagnosed liver condition, Gilbert syndrome. His family is concerned that prison conditions will exacerbate his jaundice symptoms. The blog his family has established, from which this letter and information is taken, shares news about his case and the cases of other arrested students. The blog is at:
