Hundreds of seriously ill people incarcerated in Turkish prisons are being denied release, according to a report published by the Mezopotamya news agency.
There are 1,564 sick political prisoners in Turkish prisons, 651 of whom are seriously ill. Their release is being obstructed by a body called the Forensic Medicine Institute (ATK).
Mezopotamya Agency have published details of the cases of five seriously ill prisoners: Abdulalim Kaya (82), two brothers named Fırat (24) and Emrah Nebioğlu (30), Mehti Aykaç (55) and Mehmet Emin Çam (72).
Abdulalim Kaya
Abdulalim Kaya is imprisoned in Batman Beşiri T Type Closed Prison. He has problems with his heart, kidneys and prostate for which he has been given a certified 93 percent disability report. However, ATK are still obstructing Kaya’s release. He is not receiving the treatment he needs in prison and has been kept in isolation conditions.
Kaya was arrested in 2020 but was released in 2021 after a period of intense advocacy by his supporters. He was rearrested, however, in 2023.
Kaya’s son Felemez Kaya says that his father thinks that he will die in prison. He told Mezopotamya agency: “As my father’s condition worsened due to the temperatures in prison, he was taken to Batman Training and Research Hospital on 3 August and taken back to prison on 5 August. They kept him in the hospital for only three days and sent him back into the heat. When we spoke on the phone on Wednesday (7 August), he said: ‘I can’t handle it, I can’t cope with the heat, old age and diseases. I will die here,’ he said. Our applications for his release and treatment were unsuccessful. ATK does not see the condition of sick prisoners and drags them to death. My father’s identity card says he is 82, but his real age is 86. So old and so sick, what kind of conscience is this? We want him to spend the last days of his life at home with his grandchildren and children. Let this oppression end now!”
Mehmet Emin Çam
72-year-old Mehmet Emin Çam, who is in the same prison as Kaya, has been diagnosed with a brain tumour. He has had to undergo multiple surgeries for this condition, together with coping with problems with his kidney and eyesight. He also has trouble with walking.
Çam’s son, who recently visited him in prison, said that Çam’s “illness is getting worse day by day. He has difficulty walking because he is paralysed on his left side. Someone can take his arm and carry him up the stairs. He had had a heart attack before. They opened two of the three veins. There is a risk of having a heart attack due to an unopened artery. Even though he has kidney, eye, ear and prostate diseases, he is not [released]…The intentions of those who make these decisions are clear. They received orders for my father’s body to be released from the prison. Let this oppression end!”
Mehti Aykaç
Mehti Aykaç, currently incarcerated in Ağrı’s Patnos L Type Closed Prison, has kidney and renal failure. He also suffers from blood pressure related diseases. His daughter Eylem told Mezopotamya: “My father is having difficulty in prison conditions due to kidney failure. In addition, there are water, food and canteen problems in the prison.”
Eylem said that her father was forced to stand by prison authorities during daily counts, and that the prison often responds too late when it is necessary to transfer him to hospital.
Nebioğlu brothers
24-year-old Fırat and 30-year-old Emrah Nebioğlu are both seriously ill. Firat is being held in Diyarbakır (Amed) T Type High Security Prison. Firat has paralysis from a stroke and kidney failure. Batman Training and Research Hospital recently issued a report saying he “cannot stay in prison” due to his kidney problems. Despite that, ATZ has refused to advise his release.
Emrah, who is held in Elazığ’s T Type High Security Prison, is also severely ill. He was paralysed after being shot in the head during the 2014 protests against Turkish state support for the ISIS siege of Kobane. Despite his paralysis, the prison is arguing that he is a flight risk and thus not eligible for release.
Emrah and Fırat’s mother Rahime is too sick to visit her sons. She told Mesopotamya Agency: “I have not been able to see my children for a long time. I am worried about them. I can only hear their voices on the phone. This cruelty against sick prisoners continues to increase every day. Why is no one doing anything for sick prisoners? Everyone should do whatever they can.”
