Tarık Taş, released from Tekirdağ T-Type Closed Prison on 24 August 2024 after 30 years as a political prisoner, died of a heart attack on Wednesday. His funeral occurred on Thursday in Adana’s Kabasakal Cemetery, attended by family, friends and representatives from political and civil society groups. Taş’s death underscores ongoing issues with medical care for detainees in Turkey.
On Friday, co-chairs of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, Tülay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan, demanded the release of seriously ill prisoners, focusing on Mahir Polat. Polat, a deputy secretary-general of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, has been held in Silivri Prison since 26 March despite severe health problems, including a recent angioplasty. “The government must stop turning prisons into death houses for opponents,” Hatimoğulları stated, citing nearly 100 deaths of sick prisoners in the past two years.
Mahir Polat was detained on 19 March alongside İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu during early-morning police raids, facing charges of corruption, bribery and alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The arrests, perceived by many as a political move to weaken President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s rival İmamoğlu ahead of elections, triggered widespread protests across Turkey.
Bakırhan named others lost to poor conditions, like Güler Zere, who died in 2009 shortly after release, and called for Polat’s immediate release for treatment.
The Human Rights Association (İHD) reported 1,517 sick prisoners in 2024, with 651 in critical condition, reflecting a persistent crisis.
Turkey’s justice ministry insists healthcare is provided to all inmates, but activists argue neglect and delays remain deadly. Taş’s case and Polat’s detention fuel calls for reform.
