Sick prisoner denied release dies in prison

Halil Güneş, a prisoner in Diyarbakır No. 2 F Type Closed Prison, who was on the sick prisoners list of the Human Rights Association (IHD) and was not released despite repeated appeals, has passed away in prison on Wednesday morning.

Güneş was arrested on January 2, 1993, when he was 23 years old, and remained in prison for almost 29 years with an aggravated life sentence. Güneş fought lung and osteoid cancer for many years and was transferred to 15 different prisons after his arrest. His health issues emerged after the severe torture he was subjected to under detention. The rib fractures he experienced caused him to have difficulty breathing by keeping his heart and lungs under pressure, and his discomfort increased over the years due to poor health, poor nutrition and detention conditions in prisons.

In a lung CT scan in 2007, dozens of tumours about 1 cm in size were detected in his lung. During an operation for his broken ribs, he was diagnosed with bone cancer. Güneş who had two operations was later diagnosed with severe COPD and sleep apnea in 2009. His doctors said that he had to sleep with a breathing apparatus for the rest of his life and that he should wear an oxygen mask during the day.

FORENSIC MEDICINE INSTITUTE BLOCKED HIS RELEASE

Due to the high doses of painkillers, Güneş had severe stress disorder, epilepsy, glaucoma in both eyes, cervical disc hernia and kidney stones. Although the Diyarbakır Training and Research Hospital prepared a report stating that “he cannot stay in prison” following his lawyers’ application, the Forensic Medicine Institute (ATK) prepared a new report on January 29, 2014, and concluded that Güneş could survive on his own and stay in prison. When it was revealed that the cancer disease had progressed further after the examinations carried out in July 2014, his lawyers applied to the Constitutional Court (AYM) for his release and the continuation of his treatment outside the prison. However, no positive result was obtained.

“Death is being imposed on my brother,” Güneş’s sister said during the 445th action week of the IHD Istanbul Branch Prisons Commission on October 3, 2020.