There are few windows at the Kartal Soganlik F-type Prison in Istanbul. Prisoners have told their families that on arrival at Soganlik they were held for two weeks or more in solitary confinement before being transferred to a cell designed to hold up to six people. The cells are not spacious, but provide room for bunks, a table, a shower, and a toilet. Although there is no natural light within the cell, a door leads into a high walled courtyard with an estimated area of sixteen square meters. It is not known how many hours each day that prisoners have access to this courtyard.
Photographs confirm that the prison has few if any external windows.
The door from the corridor to the cell is kept closed night and day. Meals are delivered under or through the door. Although some cells are permitted to have a television or radio, no facilities are provided for exercise or sport and no access is provided to a library or canteen. There seems to be an attempt to impose a military discipline on the prisoners. Warders who do not reveal their names require prisoners to stand at attention when they enter the cell to take them for family visits.