Uşak prison's visit

During the meeting in Uşak, we have visited the prison, guided by the director  and the prosecutor.

Uşak's prison was built in 1989 and remodelled in 2007. It hosts 688 persons (375 convict prisoners, 220 detainees in closed penal institution and 93 in semi-open institution). It is an E-Type prison (according to Wikipedia : Built on two floors based on the ward (koğuş) system and later changed to rooms for 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 persons. Each room has its own exercise yard. The lower floors are for eating; the upper floors are the dormitories). It is acknowledge by the Council of Europe as a model prison.

There are 231 wardens, for a total staff of 269.

We visited the common areas for leisure as well as the workshops premises mainly articulated around leather and textile work.  Approximately 56 people are working there, to make bags, jackets, belts and other leather articles. They are sold in shops managed by the prison authorities, one is located in the prison area, one in the city center and there is a network of such shops all over Turkey (they also organise fairs where all the products elaborated by prisoners are sold).

Moreover, they assembly blankets and cleaning devices as subcontractors for external companies.

Among the training courses proposed, one run by a psychologist is dedicated to anger control.

The shop in the city center: