Ill prisoner Boçnak loses his life

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

76-year-old ill prisoner Ali Boçnak has lost his life in Patnos Type L Prison in Turkey's eastern province of Ağrı. The passing of Boçnak has been shared with the public by his son on social media:

"My father Ali Boçnak was not released; we waited at the door of the courthouse and prison until 5 in the evening. Though the prosecutor permitted it, they did not allow us to see him. He lost his life at 1.30 a.m."

Campaign on social media

Boçnak was arrested after he was detained in an operation in November 2009. Last week, a social media campaign was launched for ill prisoner Boçnak, who was sentenced to 7 years, 8 months in prison.

The deceased body of Ali Boçnak will be laid to rest in his hometown in Turkey's eastern province of Kars.

He had been arrested for 3 years

As reported by Mezopotamya Agency (MA), an investigation was launched against Boçnak as part of the operations carried out against the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) in Kars in 2009.

In the ensuing trial, he was sentenced to 7 years, 8 months in prison and his prison sentence was upheld by the Court of Cassation in 2013.

Held in Ağrı Patnos Type L Closed Prison, Boçnak was on the ill prisoners' list of the Human Rights Association (İHD). He was suffering from renal failure among many other diseases.

İHD: There are 1,564 ill prisoners, 591 seriously

According to the April 2020 report of the İHD Prisons Commission, there are 1,546 ill prisoners in Turkey's prisons. 591 of them are seriously ill. (EMK/SD)