number of things which point to this. Firstly, as is pointed out in one description of life in Afyon Prison, it was stated "by a Prime Minister" in the Grand National Assembly during the debates on changes to the "elastic" Article 163 of the Criminal Code with a view to making it more comprehensive and carrying heavier penalties. that this would be applied directly against Said Nursi and his students.
Secondly, the following account of the Govemor of Afyon Prison, Mehmet Kayihan, shows that it was a foregone conclusion that Bediuzzaman would be imprisoned:
"...Since it had been established by the Government that Said Nursi was making `religious propaganda', a policeman called Sabri Banazli and some others were sent to Emirdag in civil clothes. One day Banazli came to the prison and said to me, `We'll be bringing you someone called Bediuzzaman soon.' Then some time after this they brought Said Nursi to the prison."
That is, he was informing the Govemor that Bediuzzaman was going to be sent to the prison before there having been any court proceedings or other formalities.
Then once inside the prison; Bediuzzaman was kept in strict isolation. Rules benefiting prisoners were not applied to him. He was allowed no visitors. He was denied assistance with and information about the court proceedings, and to hinder his defence, the Public Prosecutor held up giving Bediuzzaman the Ankara Experts' report for six or seven months, on which his own forty-six-page indictment was in part based .
In addition, the Prosecutor abused his office in various ways in efforts to indict Bediuzzaman and his students, and drag out the proceedings. For instance, it is said he was involved in the creating of disturbances within the , prison by means of various prisoners in the hope of implicating the Risale-i Nur Students. And there was a revolt while they were there, but none of the Students was involved. And