The unchecked use of cell phones by inmates at the Central Prison and their participation in online chat rooms is once again causing an uproar.
This time, it’s due to the “explosive” interview with Taner Tolga Tarlacı, excerpts of which were posted on YouTube on August 14 and 15.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The inmate, known for his appearance on “Survivor” and currently serving a ten-year prison sentence, appears to have given the interview right under the noses of the prison administration and guards.
READ ALSO: Video from a patrol car and two podcasts from the Central Prison featuring the Turkish inmate serving a long sentence
Taner, who was convicted in 2023 by the Famagusta Permanent Criminal Court on rape charges, gave an interview that was recorded without the prison administration’s knowledge. In fact, reports indicate that he used a fellow inmate’s cell phone. In the videos, Tarlacı reiterates his claims that he was wrongfully convicted and maintains that he did not receive a fair trial.
“There is no evidence in the photos, and yet how can three judges convict me?”
Excerpt
At the same time, he is calling for intervention to secure his release or his transfer to Turkey, noting that he has reached out, among others, to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Elon Musk.
READ ALSO: The Central Prison as a Studio: A Turkish Inmate Serving a Life Sentence Is the “Star” of a Podcast, Claiming to Speak with Erdogan, Trump, and Musk
“I found Elon Musk’s phone number, called him, and got Donald Trump’s number from Elon Musk. I contacted Donald Trump. However, because he is currently at war with Iran, he said he couldn’t help and that he would call President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.”
Excerpt
The crimes were committed in April 2022 in Paralimni, with the victim, a 35-year-old woman who was the prosecution’s key witness, stating, among other things, that the convicted man invited her to his apartment so that, as he had told her, she could buy products he was selling. The woman subsequently reported him for rape.
The convicted man’s actions once again cast a negative light on the correctional facility and the Ministry of Justice, which apparently only took notice after the story received hundreds of views and dozens of comments.
Wing 10, where the convict serving a life sentence is held, is considered a maximum-security facility and is equipped with closed-circuit surveillance; fewer than ten inmates are held there.
READ ALSO: A guard was watching him; they didn’t know he was giving an interview: How the Turkish convict’s podcast came to be recorded inside the Central Prison
This afternoon, in a written statement, the Ministry of Justice clarified that the communication was authorized and took place in a designated area under the required supervision of a member of the correctional facility’s staff.
“The inmate neither possessed nor used a cell phone and did not have unrestricted access to the internet. The authorization pertained to communication with a designated person abroad and not to a press interview. It appears that the recording was made by the person abroad, without the knowledge or authorization of the Prison Department.”
Ministry of Justice
