The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-07-17
Torture of Armenian Prisoners
in Turkish Prison.
Are Kept Fettered Hand and
Foot for Months.
UNPROTECTED WOMEN.
Horrible Indignities inflicted
by the Tax Buyers.
Pay for a District According to
the Pretty Girls.


Armenia
VAN, July 1.-THE prison of Van,
where the Armenian prisoners are con-
fined, is located under the shadow of the
city wall, and at a point where the
ground is SO low as to receive the drain
age of the rest of the city. Like the
other buildings of the city it is built of
sun dried brick laid in the mud. The
prison is only one story building, and
with no provision for keeping it dry.
The inner prison consists of six long,
narrow rooms, three on each side of
common passage way, into which they
open. Each room is about twelve feet
wide and from thirty to forty feet long.
has two windows at the outer end and
two small windows and a door at the in
ner end opening into the passage. Dur
ing the last winter from thirty to forty
men were crowded into each of these
rooms, sleeping on the floor, row along
each wall, so that if the feet were
little more than ordinarily
extended the two rows would interfere
with each other. Sometimes there were
twenty two men in each row, allowing
only about IS inches for each person.
The five small cells mentioned are
damp, dark and entirely unwarmed for
winter. A prisoner, Karaken Pagehest
| by name, was kept in one of these
cells fourteen consecutive months
| with foot letters all the time and
with hand and neck letters much of the
| time. Afterwards he was removed to one
I of the inner cells which are even worse
and where he now is. lie was logged
| on an average of once a day.
Apart from the actual butchery of
! Sasoun, the most painful feature of the
| Armenian situation is the position of the
Armenian women. One cannot investi-
gate this phase of the subject without
| feeling a horror over the insults and out
RACES to which these poor creatures are
| subjected.
After the most careful personal in
quiry the correspondent is able to state
that in hundreds of villages in Armenia
there is hardly one woman, old or young,
who is not from time to time made the
victim of the passions of the Kurds and
Turks. In all the villages of Armenia
the Christian women, both old and
young, are absolutely at the mercy Of
their Kurdish and Turkish neighbors.
1t is the custom of the government tc
sell to the highest bidder the
tax privileges of the various vii
lagos, the purchaser having the
right to collect all of the taxes
from the people. In very many case!
in village has great deal to do with
the price paid for the tax privilege.
When the public sale is made of the
tax privilege, it is no uncommon thing fol
the auctioneer to call out in the market
place so that all may hear that so many
girls are available in the village. Wher
a man has purchased the tax privilege
of a village he considers that he
has also bought and paid for the
women of the village and any attemp
on the part of the husbands, brothers o.
fathers to resent this Interpretation Of
the law is looked upon as higl
treason, punishable with death.
IF the Armenian men object to this
treatment of their women they are
beaten and driven from the village and
in many cases killed
The tax farmer is able to make al
extra profit out of his village by renting
out to his friends among the Turks anC
Kurds the privilege of making use of sucl
women as he does not want for himsel
and Kurds who cannot afford 20 pay fo
this privilege content themselves will
taking the women by force when tht
owner of the village is not present
The women who suffer the most ar
the brides. Kurds and Turks think i
great sport I'd carry off bride from tn
very arms OF her husband and to keel
her in their houses until they have be
come tired of her presence.