IHD demands an end to Öcalan’s isolation, and justice for ill prisoners

Adana, Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Mersin, Van, Antalya, Mardin, Urfa, Adıyaman and Hatay branches of the Human Rights Association (IHD) made press statements on occasion of the International Human Rights Week to draw attention to the isolation of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan in Imralı Island and the situation of ill detainees in Turkey’s prisons.

Isolation of Öcalan

Indicating the situation of Abdullah Öcalan, the IHD statement said, “Demands for family and lawyer visitations are constantly being rejected. Recommendations of the CPT and Mandela Rules are being disregarded. Prisoners in other prisons are facing various isolation methods such as arbitrary solitary confinement and a ban on phone calls and family visitation.”

Death of Garibe Gezer

The statement recalled Garibe Gezer who suspiciously lost her life following torture and sexual harassment in Kandıra No.1 F-type Prison, stressing that the attacks that caused the death of Gezer and the incidents witnessed during the funeral are the most concrete example of the government’s inhumane approach against prisoners and their relatives.

Situation of ill prisoners

There are at least 1605 sick prisoners in Turkey, 604 of them being seriously ill, said the statement and pointed to the arbitrary and non-scientific reports of the Forensic Medicine Institute (ATK); “Hundreds of ill prisoners, who suffer cancer, serious heart diseases, multiple chronic diseases, severe psychological problems, and who cannot live without assistance, are denied access to medical treatment, and the execution of their prison sentences are not suspended. Because of the ATK reports, jail times are extended for ill prisoners whose diseases are progressing.”