VZCZCXRO5176
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAK #6469/01 3251458
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 211458Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0015
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKDAI/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J-3/J-5//
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU//TCH//
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEUITH/TLO ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/TSR ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/USDAO ANKARA TU

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006469 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE TU
SUBJECT: LEFTIST PRISONERS' RIGHTS GROUP OVERRUNS ANKARA AP 
OFFICE 
 
 
1.(SBU) Summary: Far-left prisoners' rights group TAYAD 
raided Associated Press's Ankara office on November 20, in 
order to bring media exposure to the GOT's increasing use 
of modern "F-type" prisons (prisons with 1-3 person cells, 
vice the older communal wards) since 2000.  The group hung 
banners and shouted slogans to bring attention to an issue 
that has lost the media and public's attention.  Although 
no one was harmed when the police raided the office and 
detained the protesters, the incident shows the drastic 
measures such marginalized groups will take to promote 
their cause.  The GOT is likely to apply a strong 
punishment to deter future demonstrations.  At AP's 
request, the Embassy has offered to share information on 
preventive security measure AP can take to counteract 
further such incidents.  End summary. 
 
---------------------------------- 
Activists Seize AP's Ankara Office 
---------------------------------- 
 
2.(SBU) At 10 a.m. on November 20, three "sweet old people" 
came to AP's Ankara office and requested to speak to an AP 
representative, according to AP's Ankara Office Chief Suzan 
Fraser.  Once the doors were opened, Fraser told us, 
29 members of the far left prisoners' rights group 
Association for Inmates' Families' Solidarity (TAYAD) 
entered and said they wanted to protest against the use of 
F-type prisons heard. 
 
3.(SBU) During the next hour, the TAYAD members held Fraser 
and three other employees captive, while they unfurled 
banners from the fourth-floor office that read "No to 
Solitary Confinement" and "122 People Died in F-type 
Prisons", and chanted slogans through a megaphone.  Human 
Rights Association President Yusuf Alatas arrived at the 
office shortly after the occupation.  Alatas told us that 
an AP employee called him and asked for his help in ending 
the protest without violence. 
 
4.(SBU) As Turkish Police surrounded the office building, 
Alatas unsuccessfully tried to convince the TAYAD members 
to end the occupation.  Alatas told us that he called the 
police and asked that they "not use force."  He explained 
that the TAYAD members did not have weapons and were not 
threatening anyone.  Fraser and Alatas told us that once 
TAYAD believed a police operation was imminent, they took 
AP employees, Alatas, and computer equipment into a back 
room. 
 
5.(SBU) At approximately 11 a.m., Turkish police fired tear 
gas into the office, broke down the doors, and detained the 
29 protesters.  Neither Alatas nor the AP employees were 
harmed.  Although Alatas claimed that the police beat the 
protesters as they took them into custody, a police 
spokesperson denied any beating occurred. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
EU's Praise of F-Type Prisons Marginalizes Opposition 
Groups 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
 
6.(U) TAYAD has protested the use of F-type prisons, where 
convicts are held in one to three-person cells, since the 
GOT introduced them in 2000 to replace the old system of 
large, crowded wards where prisoners lived communally. 
According to TAYAD, other prisoners' rights groups, and 
individual prisoners who have staged hunger strikes in 
protest against F-type prisons, the arrangement allegedly 
leaves inmates socially isolated and renders them more 
vulnerable to mistreatment from prison guards.  The GOT 
states that the old ward system was at the core of frequent 
riots and hostage taking incidents, and allowed 
ultra-leftist inmates to coordinate activities. 
 
7.(SBU) The EU has stated that the introduction of F-type 
prisons was an important advance for prison reform in 
Turkey.  Dr. Shane Bryans, the EU Council's long-term 
resident expert advisor on Turkish prisons told us that the 
EU commends the creation of smaller living units for 
prisoners as a critical component in a new system that is 
 
ANKARA 00006469  002 OF 002 
 
 
closer to EU standards.  Bryans believes that the violent 
protests that occurred when F-type prisons were introduced 
were due to a misunderstanding of modern prison management 
techniques. 
 
¶8. (U) As the EU and prison experts praised GOT advances in 
prison management, and the public learned about the 
security and human rights benefits of F-type prisons, 
Bryans told us, protests dwindled and media interest 
waned.  The TAYAD members told Fraser that they wanted 
television coverage of their November 20 protest against 
the GOT's use of F-type prisons because the media had been 
censoring the issue.  During the occupation, the group told 
Fraser they did not single out AP for any particular 
reason, stating, "We thought about going to Reuters but we 
heard they didn't have an office in Ankara." 
 
¶9. (SBU) Comment:  TAYAD's occupation of the Ankara AP 
office shows the group's frustration with the difficulty of 
keeping the 
F-type prison controversy in the public view.  Given the 
EU's position that F-type prisons are a vast improvement 
over older-model prisons, TAYAD's stunt is unlikely to 
breathe 
new life into its position.  Although this incident did not 
involve weapons or lead to injuries, the GOT is likely to 
apply a strong punishment to deter future desperate acts of 
a similar nature.  At Fraser's request, the Embassy has 
offered share information on preventive security measures 
AP can take to counteract further such incidents.  End 
comment. 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON