Turkish journalist Ahmet Şık kept in isolation, says lawyer

Prominent journalist Ahmet Şık has been kept in isolation in prison, according to his lawyer who recently visited him. 

Şık, who was arrested on Dec. 30, 2016, over several tweets and his articles for daily Cumhuriyet, was denied drinking water for three days and has not had access to the news, daily Cumhuriyet reported Jan. 6. 

After being arrested for making propaganda for the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), outlawed Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) and outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Şık was sent to Metris prison, where he was prevented from meeting his lawyer, Can Atalay.

On Jan. 3, he was sent to Silivri Prison, where he was imprisoned in 2011 for laying bare the extent of the Gülenist movement's infiltration into the police forces. Prosecutors now claim that he has been conducting propaganda for the same group despite his previous treatment at its hands.

Şık was denied drinking water for three days in Metris Prison, according to his lawyer. Atalay said he was refused bottled water, with authorities informing him that the cafeteria was closed, suggesting that he drink tap water instead. 

The journalist was finally able to drink clean water after being arrested and transferred to Silivri Prison, Atalay said.

"He was kept in isolation in Metris Prison. There was only a bed in the cell. He wasn't given drinking water for three days and told that 'the cafeteria was closed.' The isolation practice has been ongoing in Silivri Prison," Atalay told daily Cumhuriyet after meeting Şık on Jan. 5.

"He doesn't have a television or a radio in his cell. He wasn't given a newspaper or a book," he added. 

Relaying that Şık did not know about the Islamic State of...