The health conditions of politically imprisoned, ill detainees being held hostage in prisons are worsening with each passing day. Human rights defenders and the relatives of prisoners say that delays in access to medical treatment and the failure to respond to release requests threaten the right to life, stressing that the situation of ill detainees must be addressed as an urgent and humanitarian issue.
Pınar Sakık Tekin, Co-Chair of the Federation of Legal and Solidarity Associations of Families of Detainees and Convicts (MED TUHAD-FED), spoke to ANF.
Tekin said: “For more than a year now, there has been talk in Turkey of an atmosphere of peace. To assess whether this is true, one must look not at rhetoric but at practice, and the places where this is seen most clearly are prisons.
Today, hundreds of elderly and ill detainees in prisons both in Turkey and in Kurdistan are being kept suspended between life and death. Elderly and ill detainees who cannot get out of bed, cannot walk, cannot feed themselves, and cannot sustain their lives on their own are being forced to remain in cells under harsh conditions. Even transfers to hospitals are deliberately delayed; access to treatment is obstructed, and handcuffed medical examinations are being normalized. Alongside all this, they are subjected to numerous rights violations.”
Forensic Medicine Institute has turned into a mechanism blocking releases
Pınar Sakık Tekin said that the reports prepared by the Forensic Medicine Institute have gone beyond medical assessments and have in practice turned into a mechanism that blocks releases.
Tekin said: “Ill detainees are being deliberately left to die there. They are being forcibly kept there with reports stating ‘they can remain in prison’ until they reach the brink of death. In effect, they are being denied the chance to spend the remainder of their lives with their families in dignity, and this is being begrudged to them. We want to say that this is a crime against humanity and an act of cruelty. Dozens of families wait in front of prisons every day to find out whether their children are alive or not.
It must also be said: they are not just numbers; they are a mother’s child, they are a life, and above all they are a family’s hope. Therefore, what is done to them and what they are made to endure is not legal, but the result of a political choice. What they are being subjected to is, in fact, a concrete reflection of the approach to the Kurdish issue.”
Barriers to releases must be lifted
Pınar Sakık Tekin called on the authorities to remove the obstacles preventing the release of ill detainees and said: “As MED TUHAD-FED, our call is this: if there is truly talk today of a process, its concrete step must begin in prisons. First and foremost, elderly and ill detainees must be released immediately and unconditionally. This is not a political bargaining issue; it is a humanitarian necessity.
It is particularly necessary to emphasize this point: if there is truly to be a peace process today, it must not remain at the level of rhetoric but be supported by implementation. Unless it is backed by practice, it will have no meaning, no social resonance, and no credibility. For this reason, concrete steps must be taken as soon as possible, and those concrete steps must begin in prisons.”
Prisoners who must be urgently released
The names of ill detainees who must be urgently released from prisons are as follows:
Rojbin Çetin – Diyarbakır (Amed) Women’s Prison: Unable to maintain normal nutrition due to multiple illnesses, including masses in the intestines, chest, and throat. She requires special dietary care.
Hacı Alagaş – Adana Suluca Prison: 88 years old; suffered a heart attack one month ago. He has lung disease, and treatment in prison is inadequate.
Haki Gören – Adana Kürkçüler Prison: Advanced Alzheimer’s disease, medically confirmed. A Forensic Medicine report states that he cannot remain in prison, yet he is still being held.
Feyzi Aslan – Adana Suluca Prison: 57 years old; suffers from cerebral atrophy.
Ilhan Tekin Alp – Adana Kürkçüler Prison: Has shrapnel in his body that has not been treated.
Ekrem Baydoğan – Adana Kürkçüler Prison: 52 years old, imprisoned for 20 years; seriously ill and in need of treatment.
Alaattin Ecer – Erzurum Dumlu Prison: Of advanced age and suffering from serious health problems.
Mehmet Emin Aladağ – Elazığ High-Security Prison: Both arm muscles have ruptured; he has partial paralysis due to a herniated disc.
Mecit Baştaş – Patnos Prison: Suffers from advanced prostate cancer.
Hamdi Çiçek and Şehmuz Koç – Giresun Espiye Prison: Have mental health conditions. Despite medical reports stating they cannot remain in prison, their release requests have been rejected.
Ilyas Ayaz – Van F-Type Prison: Has shrapnel in his head, frequently faints, and sustains serious injuries.
Necdet Koç – Van High-Security Prison: Suffers from stage-four cancer and has recently undergone surgery.
Botan Karsu – Van Prison: Suffers from stage-four cancer; he was previously released due to his illness but was re-arrested, and his condition is deteriorating.
Abdülkadir Kaya – Şanlıurfa 2 No. T-Type Prison: Underwent open-heart surgery (T2).
Ahmet Çelik – Tarsus T-1 No. Prison: Suffers from an inguinal hernia, kidney inflammation, and neurological disorders due to blows to the head. He can walk with crutches but cannot use his hands and has difficulty speaking. He also has bladder cancer.
Emin Gurban, Vahdettin Erdemci, Abdo Şeyho, Abdullah Zoraslan, Muhammed Akyüz, Mehmet Ümit, Faysal Kurt – Ereğli Prison.
Mehmet Ali Caymak – Erzincan High-Security Prison: Detained for 15 years; battling a brain tumor.
Mehmet Emin Çam – Batman Beşiri T-Type Prison: 75 years old; has cardiovascular disease and a brain tumor.
Methi Aykaç – Patnos O-Type Prison: Over 75 years old; has kidney, brain, and lung diseases.
Sait Özer – Batman Beşiri T-Type Prison: Over 65 years old; has kidney failure and a history of heart attack.
Güle Daşçı – Diyarbakır High-Security Prison: Undergoing treatment for a brain tumor.
Mehmet Elçe, Burhan Nas, Ismail Tanboğa, Önder Poyraz – detainees with severe illnesses held in various prisons.
Botan Iverendi, Devran Şeflek, Doğan Erkol, Ihsan Karatay, Ismail Tanboğa, Serhan Aksin, Yusuf Alp, Ziver Kino, Zülfikar Karatekin, Ebubekir Koç – Diyarbakır No. 2 High-Security Prison.
Leyla Baran, Şefik Kandar, Semra Akgül, Sevil Çetin, Sinem Ateş, Bermal Birtek – Diyarbakır Women’s Prison.
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