In the period following the military fascist coup of September 12th, 1980 in Turkey, at the time when repressive measures were being brought to bear in all areas of social life, leave permits for those in semi-open prisons are suspended until further notice. In order to qualify for leave, the detainees are required to have served a third of their sentence and have a record of faultless conduct. Insult, physical maltreatment, repression, forced labour and arbitrariness are normal in Turkish prisons. For those detainees who await leave, only one attitude remains: resignation and submission.