Documentarian Çayan Demirel gains the right of disability retirement

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Having health problems over the last years and with his 99-percent disability confirmed by a medical report, Çayan Demirel has gained his right of retirement due to disability after a legal struggle for 4.5 years.

Taking the reports of the Forensic Medical Institution into consideration, the local court has ruled that documentarian Demirel shall be considered retired due to disability starting from March 18, 2015.

Speaking to bianet, Ayşe Çetinbaş, the wife of Çayan Demirel, has welcomed the news, adding that they cannot get the pension immediately as the state will automatically appeal against this ruling:

'Supreme Board has confirmed our rightfulness'

"We have been waging this struggle for 4.5 years, we are unfortunately exhausted. Even though Çayan had a 99-percent disability report from the very beginning and the doctors saw it, the Social Security Institution (SGK) rejected our request for retirement due to disability on the grounds that Çayan was not constantly in need of care.

"We thought there must have been some disruption due to workload. We took this decision to the SGK's supreme board. Even the supreme board, in a decision signed by 10 professors, approved the opinion that Çayan was not constantly in need of care. Therefore, we had no other choice left than filing a lawsuit. It has been a really exhausting process for us.

"The conditions where the people with disabilities live are already very hard. We are lucky in the sense that we have our attorneys and friends, they followed up the case. At the end of this 4.5-year process, the Supreme Board of the Forensic Medicine Institution has confirmed that we are right.

'The state will automatically object'

"I need to note that we are naturally quite relieved. Çayan is very happy about it. But after all those negative reports and developments, I thought that this nightmare would end. We thought that we could get the pension immediately, but the process apparently does not proceed like that. As the state has lost the case, it will automatically appeal.

"The processes of court of appeals and Court of Cassation that we are familiar with will also be the case here, which is upsetting.

"It is unfortunately an upsetting joy, but I look at it from a positive point of view. I hope that this case will set a precedent for the abuse of rights suffered by people with disabilities. Çayan and I have been unable to work for 5.5 years. As Çayan has a mother, I can partly work, but we cannot receive any contribution from the state. All of our applications have been rejected."

'His treatments cancelled due to pandemic'

Concluding her remarks, Ayşe Çetinbaş has also talked about the health condition of Çayan Demirel and his treatment amid pandemic:

"There is not much change in Çayan. But all of his treatments and therapies have been cancelled due to the pandemic.

"We are mostly at home. There is actually a physical deterioration for this reason. He has also been psychologically affected.

"I have been trying to not stay silent from the beginning. While the condition of Çayan is so obvious, those decisions seemed to be given intentionally. We also wanted to draw attention to the violations of rights faced by disabled people." (AÖ/SD)