In statements led by the Human Rights Association (IHD) and the Lawyers’ Association (ÖHD), it was emphasized that severely ill prisoner Mehmet Emin Çam is unable to continue living under prison conditions, and an urgent release was demanded.
The statements also recalled Mehmet Edip Taşar, a sick prisoner who died due to the failure to release ill inmates, and urged immediate action to prevent a similar outcome.
In Istanbul, Şirnex, Êlih, Sêrt, Amed, Dêrsim, Wan, Colemêrg, and Ankara, the statements jointly noted that Mehmet Emin Çam’s advanced age, multiple chronic illnesses, and health condition requiring continuous treatment threaten many fundamental rights, especially the right to life, under prison conditions.
At the IHD Istanbul Branch, authorities were called upon to release not only Mehmet Emin Çam but all sick prisoners. Similar calls were repeated in statements in other cities.
In Amed, it was noted that Çam had recently been transferred to various hospitals but was returned to prison, and his family was not provided with sufficient information about his health condition.
Çam’s daughter, Şimel Çam, stated that her father was brought to the hospital handcuffed and in a wheelchair and had difficulty recognizing them and his cellmates, asking, “What more needs to happen for him to be released?”
The statements reiterated calls for postponing Mehmet Emin Çam’s sentence and for the immediate release of other ill prisoners in custody.