MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Çewlîg (Bingöl)- Despite all attempts and calls, sick prisoners are not released from prison in Turkey. 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. In the first five months of 2023, 15 sick prisoners died in prison. The last sick prisoner, who died in prison, was Şakir Turan. Held in Erzincan L-type Closed Prison, he died of throat cancer because he was not released to receive treatment. The Forensic Medicine Institution (ATK) keeps preparing reports saying sick prisoners ‘can stay in prison’. Due to these reports, many seriously sick political prisoners remain in prison.

The ATK reported that she could stay in prison

 Özge Özbek is one of the sick political prisoners. In 2011, she was sentenced to six years and three months in prison by the Ankara 11th High Criminal Court on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization”. On October 27, 2020, she underwent an open brain surgery at Istanbul Acıbadem Hospital. After her surgery, her sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court. On December 24, 2021, the Darıca Training and Research Hospital Health Board prepared a report saying that she could not stay in prison. Despite this health report, the Forensic Medicine Institution prepared a report saying ‘She can stay in prison’. Özge Özbek was arrested and sent to prison to serve her sentence.

 ‘She suffers from loss of balance’

Özge Özbek has many tumors in her brain and suffers from epilepsy. According to her relatives, she often suffers from headache and loss of balance and hearing in prison due to her illnesses. On July 10, she felt faint due to loss of balance and hit her head on the ground. She was transferred to a hospital; however, she was transferred back to prison even though her condition was risky.

‘Her health condition has been deteriorating’

NuJINHA spoke to Mihriban Ekinci, one of the relatives of Özge Özbek about her health condition. “Her health has been deteriorating. Now, she has about 10 tumors in her brain. In addition, she suffers from 78% hearing loss. When she fell down and hit her head, she was transferred to a hospital from prison. There, doctors told her that there were about 10 tumors in her brain. She has been suffering from the loss of balance and she has difficulties in speaking,” Mihriban Ekinci told us.

 ‘Political prisoners are deprived of their rights’

Underlining that sick political prisoners are deprived of their rights in prison, Mihriban Ekinci said, “There are thousands of sick prisoners like Özge. The policy carried out against Mehmet Emin Özkan (84-year-old sick political prisoner, who was released from prison after 27 years of imprisonment) is also carried out against thousands of sick prisoners. All sick prisoners must be immediately released. Özge is my niece and there are thousands like Özge in prison now. Dozens of sick prisoners have lost their lives in prison due to the lack of treatment.”

‘The ATK acts biased against Kurds’

Mihriban Ekinci thinks the ATK acts biased in preparing reports about Kurdish prisoners. Calling on the Ministry of Justice to fulfill its duty, she said, “While the reports prepared by hospitals say sick prisoners cannot stay in prison, the reports prepared by the ATK say they can stay in prison. This is a policy against Kurdish prisoners. Kurdish people have no right to life both in prison and outside. Özge was sentenced to six years and three months in prison for participating in a press conference when she was a university student. The prison sentence given to her is unjust and now she is denied access to treatment. The Ministry of Justice should fulfill its duty about this situation. It should immediately take a step for the release of sick prisoners.”