ANKARA (Reuters) - A Turkish human rights group warned Friday that death was
imminent for 60 prisoners who have been on hunger strike for several months in a protest
over government jail reforms.

Nine inmates on hunger strike have died since March, increasing the likelihood of Western
criticism of EU-candidate Turkey's checkered human rights record. Last month Ankara
renewed its pledge to make political reforms to meet European Union criteria.

Allegations of rights abuses in Turkey are rife, particularly in the new cell-type high-security
prisons, where inmates say isolation increases the risk of police brutality.

``Currently, there are 60 prisoners on hunger strike who face imminent death,'' said the
Human Rights Foundation (IHV) in a statement faxed to Reuters. ``Transfer of those
prisoners to hospitals on the order of the government is not a solution.''

Some 1,000 prisoners remain on hunger strike, consuming vitamins and sugared water, IHV
said.

The group urged the government to negotiate with the protesters and said ``urgent steps
should be taken.''

The government has refused to bargain with the inmates and said the cell-style jails are
necessary to break the influence illegal groups enjoyed in crowded dormitory-type prisons.

More than 30 prisoners and two soldiers died in December when security forces raided
prisons to halt the hunger strike and to transfer inmates to the new prisons.
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The Kurdistan Observer
www.kurdistanobserver.com