• Turkish soldiers stand guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex during the trial of 17 writers, executives and lawyers of the secularist Cumhuriyet newspaper in Silivri near Istanbul, Turkey. Reuters
    Turkish soldiers stand guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex during the trial of 17 writers, executives and lawyers of the secularist Cumhuriyet newspaper in Silivri near Istanbul, Turkey. Reuters
  • A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey. Reuters
    A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey. Reuters
  • Turkish anti-riot police officers use teargas during a demonstration in solidarity with prisoners on hunger strike in front of the Bakerkoy prison in Istanbul. AFP
    Turkish anti-riot police officers use teargas during a demonstration in solidarity with prisoners on hunger strike in front of the Bakerkoy prison in Istanbul. AFP
  • Turkish soldiers stand guard on watch towers during Pro Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP)'s campain meeting for the presidential elections near the prison where Demirtas is being held in Edirne. AFP
    Turkish soldiers stand guard on watch towers during Pro Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP)'s campain meeting for the presidential elections near the prison where Demirtas is being held in Edirne. AFP
  • Turkish soldiers stand guard in front of the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex in Silivri, near Istanbul during the trial of Gezi protests and civil society figure Osman Kavala, along with 15 other people, charged with seeking to overthrow the government. AFP
    Turkish soldiers stand guard in front of the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex in Silivri, near Istanbul during the trial of Gezi protests and civil society figure Osman Kavala, along with 15 other people, charged with seeking to overthrow the government. AFP
  • A Turkish soldier stands guard at the entrance of the Aliaga court and prison complex, during the trial of US pastor Andrew Brunson, held on charges of aiding terror groups, in Aliaga, north of Izmir. AFP
    A Turkish soldier stands guard at the entrance of the Aliaga court and prison complex, during the trial of US pastor Andrew Brunson, held on charges of aiding terror groups, in Aliaga, north of Izmir. AFP

Turkish prisons overcrowded under Erdogan's rule


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Turkey’s prison population has more than doubled in recent years, while the government jailed political opponents, lawyers and journalists at an increasing rate.

Recent figures from Turkstat, the government's statistics agency, showed there were 291,546 prisoners at the end of 2019 compared to 120,194 a decade earlier.

Since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP party came to power in 2002, there has been nearly a four-fold rise in the number of incarcerations.

Inmate numbers have risen by at least 10 per cent each year since 2013, according to Turkstat.

From the end of 2010 to the end of 2020, Turkey's prison population grew by 13 per cent,

In the aftermath of a 2016 coup attempt, it jumped by more than 15 per cent as the government acted against opponents, including politicians, journalists and campaigners, as well as those it linked to the failed coup.

The figures make Turkey the world's seventh biggest jailer, behind countries such as the US, China and Russia, according to the Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research's World Prison Brief.

Ali Yildiz, a human rights lawyer at the Brussels-based Arrested Lawyers Initiative, said that a Turkish penal code introduced in 2005 had greatly increased prison sentences.

The use of “anti-terror laws to silence any kind of critical voice” led to growth in prison numbers.

Mr Yildiz cited research by the initiative that showed more than 220,000 people were sentenced for membership of an armed terrorist organisation between 2016 and 2019, an offence that carries a minimum sentence of six years.

"Abuse of anti-terror law is the main reason for the increase in the prison population," Mr Yildiz told The National.

While the official statistics reflected the outcome of post-2016 repression, they do not provide detail on the exact numbers of people detained on what many consider to be politically-motivated charges.

Among these inmates, the two best known are Selahattin Demirtas and Osman Kavala.

The European Court of Human Rights has demanded the release of both men.

Mr Demirtas, the former co-chairman of the Kurdish-based People's Democratic Party, has been in jail since his arrest in November 2016.

In that time he has largely been held in pretrial detention for terrorism offences relating to speeches he gave years earlier.

Businessman and philanthropist Mr Kavala was imprisoned in October 2017.

He was acquitted of trying to overthrow the government by backing nationwide protests in 2013 but other charges relating to the coup attempt were brought within hours, keeping him in prison. He is scheduled to appear before a court in May on espionage charges.

The International Commission of Jurists said both men were being kept in jail for the purpose of “silencing of human rights… stifling pluralism and limiting freedom of political debate and utilising pretrial detention as a method of arbitrary punishment”.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention recently said Turkey’s systematic use of such imprisonment “may constitute crimes against humanity”.

“It is not simple miscarriage of justice but a campaign to destroy the lives of dissidents,” Mr Yildiz said.

As with other political prisoners, neither Mr Demirtas nor Mr Kavala were released as part of measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Turkey’s jails.

Meanwhile, about 90,000 inmates were given conditional release in April last year, including gangster Alaattin Catici, who has close ties to Mr Erdogan's nationalist allies and was serving time for crimes including ordering the death of his ex-wife.

Despite this reduction in numbers, the Justice Ministry is continuing with a jail-building programme.

Having built 94 prisons in the last five years, taking the country's total to 355, the ministry recently announced it would spend a significant proportion of its $2.4 billion budget for 2021 on constructing 39 more.

The Civil Society in the Penal System Association (CISST), a Turkish penal reform group, said conditions for prisoners had deteriorated significantly under coronavirus measures, with inmates confined to their dormitories for nearly a year without any outside exercise or social activities.

“A year is sufficient time to take the necessary precautions and to develop the ways of socialising people by observing social distancing,” said Berivan Korkut, CISST’s advocacy co-ordinator.

“However, no serious steps have been taken in this regard. Health is limited to only physical health and ignores other needs of individuals. Unfortunately, the [beneficial] effects of activities and socialisation on the psychology of inmates aren’t taken into account.”

Prisoners’ access to healthcare has also deteriorated during the pandemic, with reduced opportunity for hospital referrals as prison authorities only send patients to hospital in life-threatening situations.

“This poses a serious danger, especially when it comes to chronic and severely ill patients,” Ms Korkut said.

Coronavirus infected inmates are generally held in quarantine within prison, where conditions are worse than among the general population with a lack of access to books, radio and telephone calls.

“In some institutions, quarantine is used like a solitary sentence and inmates may not request hospital referrals for this reason,” said Ms Korkut.

“In addition, recent complaints to CISST include restrictions on communication, an increase in violence and mistreatment.”

UAE rugby in numbers

5 - Year sponsorship deal between Hesco and Jebel Ali Dragons

700 - Dubai Hurricanes had more than 700 playing members last season between their mini and youth, men's and women's teams

Dh600,000 - Dubai Exiles' budget for pitch and court hire next season, for their rugby, netball and cricket teams

Dh1.8m - Dubai Hurricanes' overall budget for next season

Dh2.8m - Dubai Exiles’ overall budget for next season

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

The specs
Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder

Transmission: CVT auto

Power: 181bhp

Torque: 244Nm

Price: Dh122,900 

10 tips for entry-level job seekers
  • Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
  • Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
  • Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
  • For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
  • Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
  • Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
  • Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
  • Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
  • Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
  • Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.

Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz

How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed

Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.

Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.

The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.

One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.

That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.

yallacompare profile

Date of launch: 2014

Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer

Based: Media City, Dubai 

Sector: Financial services

Size: 120 employees

Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)

What went into the film

25 visual effects (VFX) studios

2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots

1,000 VFX artists

3,000 technicians

10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers

New sound technology, named 4D SRL

 

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Overall standings

1. Christopher Froome (GBR/Sky) 68hr 18min 36sec,

2. Fabio Aru (ITA/AST) at 0:18.

3. Romain Bardet (FRA/ALM) 0:23.

4. Rigoberto Uran (COL/CAN) 0:29.

5. Mikel Landa (ESP/SKY) 1:17.

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Name: Peter Dicce

Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics

Favourite sport: soccer

Favourite team: Bayern Munich

Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer

Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates