IHD: A “policy of death” prevails in prisons

In Turkey, thirteen sick prisoners died in custody in the first quarter of the year. In the previous two years, as many as more than fifty seriously ill prisoners died behind bars within twelve months. The figures were presented on Saturday at the 496th “F-Session” of the Prison Commission of the Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD). “The situation for sick prisoners is dramatic, urgently needed treatments are systematically hindered or denied. A de facto policy of death prevails in the prisons,” said human rights activist Meral Nergis Şahin.

According to the latest figures from the IHD, there are currently 1,605 sick prisoners in Turkish prisons. At least 604 of them are life-threateningly ill, 249 of whom are women. Şahin speaks of a “cruel parallel world” beyond valid law in prisons, where the right to life is no longer valid – especially in the case of political prisoners. However, there is not only a lack of adequate treatment measures, but also a lack of hygiene and nutritional facilities. This situation poses a serious threat to the right to life of all prisoners, which the state is obliged to protect under both constitutional law and international agreements. Since the AKP came to power in 2002, well over 2,500 prisoners have died.

“But in a situation where prisoners should be released in order to uphold the fundamental right to life, their death behind bars is deliberately taken into account,” Şahin criticizes. The fact that every person without exception has the right to life-saving measures and that this responsibility lies with the government, however, only applies to very few in Turkey. And certainly not for sick prisoners who have been imprisoned for political reasons or on so-called terror charges. This mentality is most recently reflected in the case of Mehmet Ali Çelebi. The 70-year-old was imprisoned for almost three decades and suffered from leukemia, high blood pressure, reduced eyesight due to a stroke and kidney weakness, among other things. For years, his relatives fought for his release. But only when it was far too late did the Turkish judiciary order an early end to his imprisonment. Ten days later, Çelebi succumbed to serious cancer in a hospital in Istanbul-Başakşehir.

Meral Nergis Şahin fears that Mehmet Emin Özkan will suffer a similar fate. The now 83-year-old Kurd has been innocently behind bars for 25 years. He suffers from various illnesses, including an aneurysm in his brain, high blood pressure, a thyroid disease, Alzheimer’s dementia, which leads to memory loss, confusion and disorientation, hearing loss, respiratory weakness and a chronic inflammatory bowel disease. Özkan has survived six heart attacks so far, and he has had to undergo cardiac catheterization four times. Still, he is not being discharged. “Ali Osman Köse, Ergin Aktaş, Ekim Polat, Mehmet Yamaç, Fatma Tokmak, Süreyya Bulut, Dicle Bozan, Serdal Yıldırım, Kemal Gömi, Kemal Özelmalı – names of some seriously ill prisoners who are currently left to die,” Şahin continued. “We demand that they be granted the right to life-saving measures and health. They must be released, as well as the elderly, women and young children. The public is asked to be especially sensitive to the state’s treatment of sick prisoners. Those responsible are urged to take immediate action and grant all prison inmates their basic rights.”