MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Amed – The relatives of sick prisoners and the prisoners, who are not released despite having completed their sentences, have been holding an action, known as the Justice Watch, for more than a year to demand the release of their relatives from prison. Every day, they gather in front of the Diyarbakır prison, the Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK) in Diyarbakır or Diyarbakır Courthouse to demand the release of their relatives; however, no step has been taken for prisoners until now.

73 prisoners died in 11 months

73 prisoners lost their lives in Turkey’s prisons in the last 11 months. There are 1,517 sick prisoners, 651 of whom are seriously ill, according to the report released by the Human Rights Association (İHD) in 2022. Despite the calls for the release of sick prisoners, sick prisoners are still subjected to rights violations and their right to access to health is often blocked. 73-year-old Abdulhalim Kırtay, who has been held in the İzmir Şakran No.2 T-type Closed Prison, is one of the sick prisoners. Herdem Merwanî is one of the relatives of prisoners holding the Justice Watch to demand the release of sick prisoners.

‘Our action raises awareness’

Pointing out that their action has raised awareness of the public about the conditions of sick prisoners, Herdem Merwani told us that the prisoners were left alone during the Covid-19 pandemic. Underlining that they have held their Justice Watch for more than 380 days, she said, “We started the Justice Watch to demand a solution for the problems faced by prisoners. When we first started our action, the situation was very bad; people could not say that they had a relative in prison. During the Covid-19 lockdown, the prisoners were left alone; they were forgotten by society. During that time, many prisoners were released; however, the political prisoners were not released. But everyone ignored these unjust practices. For this reason, we started our action to demand the release of sick prisoners and the prisoners, who are not released despite having completed their sentences.”

‘Opposition parties did not keep their promises’

Indicating that many NGOs and people have been in solidarity with them and supported their action, Herdem Merwanî said that opposition parties promised them to make their voices heard in the parliament, “However, they did not keep their promises. The NGOs and lawyers have been in solidarity with us since we started our action. Our action and the resistance of mothers raise awareness of the public about the situation of prisoners. Some political parties also supported us but not actively. We still hold our action because there are many sick prisoners and their health condition is  deteriorating day by day. Political parties are responsible for raising our voices; however, they have failed. The ruling party, the opposition parties and the Minister of Justice remain silent against our demands.”

‘We persistently demand and expect a permanent solution’

Calling on the opposition parties to take a step for a permanent solution, Herdem Merwanî said, “We demand the release of sick prisoners and the prisoners, who are not released despite having completed their sentences. The first thing we do when we wake up in the morning is to watch the news about prisons. This problem is not only the problem of families or the Kurdish people; it is the problem of all people in the country. We trusted the opposition parties to make our voices heard; however, they did not keep their promises. But we still don't want to be hopeless. We call on the opposition parties to take a step for a permanent solution. We persistently demand and expect a permanent solution.”

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