Sick Prisoner Koçer Özdal’s Condition on Parliamentary Agenda

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The condition of sick prisoner Koçer Özdal, who has been diagnosed with cancer and currently held in the "detention ward" in the Numune Training and Research Hospital in the capital city of Ankara, has been brought to parliamentary agenda.

The Muş MPs of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Şevin Coşkun and Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit have submitted parliamentary inquiries to be answered by the Minister of Justice Abdülhamit Gül.

Coşkun and Kılıç Koçyiğit have requested information regarding what medical treatments have been provided to Özdal and why he has not been allowed to have a companion at hospital despite the seriousness of his condition. In the inquiry, it has also been asked whether any steps have been taken to reprieve the prison sentence of Özdal.

The attorneys of Özdal applied to the court last week, requesting that his prison sentence be reprieved and he receive medical treatment outside prison as per the Article no. 16 of the Law no. 5275.

CLICK - Human Rights Association: 1154 Ill Prisoners, 402 in Serious Condition

According to the report of Prisons Commission of the Human Rights Association (İHD), as of March 2, 2018, there were 1,154 sick prisoners in Turkey, 402 of whom were in critical condition. (AS/SD)