Koçak’s Weight Drops to 29 Kilos, He Awaits an Answer to His Request for Release

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"My elder brother will come out of here, he will perhaps love a girl, maybe he will get married... He is just in the prime of his life, I have never imagined him in a burial robe. I don't want him to be taken out of here in a coffin, I don't want my elder brother to die."

After an arrestee has reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 in Buca Prison in İzmir, the family of death fasting Mustafa Koçak held in Şakran Prison in İzmir say that they are now more concerned about him.

Speaking to bianet, Mustafa Koçak's sister Mine Koçak says that his elder brother is so young and she does not want him to die.

Mustafa Koçak is a 28-year-old prisoner in Şakran No. 1 Type F Prison in the Aegean province of İzmir. He has been on the 293rd day of his death fast. His body weight has dropped to 29 kilograms.

'He himself says, "I don't have much time left"'

Mine Koçak, her mother, father and other siblings are still waiting in front of the prison where Mustafa Koçak is held. She says that the last time when they talked to him on the phone was yesterday (April 19).

Mine Koçak shares the following details about her brother's health:

"My elder brother said that after the forced intervention 40 days ago, he now cannot walk, there is a burning sensation on his body and he cannot touch it, his legs have swollen and he has blisters at the bottom of his feet.

"He is losing his teeth, he has lost a lot of weight. He has dropped to 29 kilograms. He hurts a lot, he cannot sleep because of pain, he said.

"The only precaution against the virus is pouring disinfectant on his hands and wearing a mask. But we don't know how much disinfectant they give him. Prison administration says that they take measures, but we cannot trust. Wardens come here from outside, they might have the virus.

"We know that it is a virus affecting immune system. My brother weighs 29 kilos now, his immune system is really weak. If he catches the virus, it might lead to his death. He himself says, 'I don't have much time left'."

Mustafa Koçak was previously tied to a chair by force in his cell and taken to the Şakran Prison hospital; 73 bottles of drips were put on him though he said that he did not accept intervention and took out the drips from his arms; the drips were then put on his legs and he was tied to bed with handcuffs to prevent him from pulling off the drips; he was threatened by saying "We will disable and leave you" and he was not taken to toilet for five days.

CLICK - Attorney: Death Fasting Inmate Subjected to Forced Intervention, Torture

'He cannot meet his needs by himself'

Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) Chair and Forensic Medicine Specialist Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur-Fincancı previously prepared a medical report on Mustafa Koçak.

The report noted that 165-centimeter-high Koçak dropped to 30 kilo, his body-mass index was calculated as 11.02 and even this data was life-threatening. The report also indicated that his bodily injuries were within the scope of torture and imprisonment and hospitalization would pose a risk to his life. The attorneys of Koçak applied to the Constitutional Court with the report signed by Korur-Fincancı and requested his release as a precaution.

CLICK - Attorneys of Mustafa Koçak Apply to Constitutional Court, Request His Release

Mine Koçak says that their application has not yet been responded:

"An application was made to the prosecutor's office on April 3, 2020. He cannot go to a full-fledged hospital due to the outbreak. The prosecutor's office addressed a letter to the hospital and requested that a board be convened for the report. We hope that an answer will be given this week. They shouldn't have waited even this long. Days, weeks are very long periods for us. We are now counting seconds...

"My big brother cannot sustain his life by himself, he cannot even meet his toilet needs by himself. He is in a three-person ward, the other two help him."

They were fined 906 lira due to 'social distance'

Mine Koçak and her family were fined 906 lira while they were waiting in front of the prison where Mustafa Koçak is held.

The gendarmerie officers fined them 302 lira each on the ground that they did not keep social distance as part of "pandemic measures."

Last week, nine people waiting in front of the prison were also detained and a lawsuit has been filed against them on charges of "propagandizing for an organization" and "resisting a public officer."

Mine Koçak says, "We don't know why a lawsuit for propaganda has been filed, we had no banners or aprons, there was nothing. We were not protesting or chanting slogans. We were just standing there."

While talking to Mine Koçak, the gendarmerie were heard to be saying "Don't wait here" in the background.

Mine Koçak concludes her remarks as follows:

"We are a nuclear family of six. All we want is to keep my elder brother alive. If he recovers after that, we don't know if he will fully recover or not. Doctors say that his peripheral nervous system has been damaged, that is why he cannot walk. We don't know if he will walk ever again, but it doesn't matter. It is enough for us if we can take him out of here alive. He himself said that he wanted to live. He said, 'Hold my hand.' They don't do this protest to die..." (AS/SD)