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

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Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) Chair and Forensic Medicine Specialist Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur-Fincancı has prepared a medical report on death fasting prisoner Mustafa Koçak, who previously announced that he was subjected to torture in prison hospital in İzmir.

The report has indicated that his bodily injuries are within the scope of torture and imprisonment and hospitalization pose a risk to his life.

Subjected to a forced medical intervention and torture on the 254th day of his hunger strike that he began for his "right to a fair trial" and still held in Şakran Prison in İzmir, Mustafa Koçak spoke to his family on the phone yesterday (March 29) and told them that he cannot stand on his feet any longer and they have got numb almost completely.

'Even his weight alone is life-threatening'

The report medical report on Mustafa Koçak has indicated that 165-centimeter-high Koçak has dropped to 30 kilo, his body-mass index has been calculated as 11.02 and even this data is life-threatening.

The attorneys of Koçak will apply to the Constitutional Court with the report signed by Şebnem Korur Fincancı today and request his release as a precaution on the ground that the protection of his bodily integrity and the prohibition of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment guaranteed by the Article 17 of the Constitution and the Article 3 of the ECHR have been violated and neither prison conditions nor hospital conditions due to the COVID-19 outbreak are suitable for Mustafa Koçak.

Weighing as low as 30 kilos now, Mustafa Koçak previously said that he was 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

Court of Cassation on COVID-19 leave

The attorneys of Mustafa Koçak previously applied to the Court of Cassation, which is expected to examine his file. Attaching the report prepared by Korur-Fincancı's report on March 27 to their application, the attorneys requested that "Mustafa Koçak be released urgently released as his imprisonment and/or hospitalization would be life-threatening."

However, as the Board of Presidents of the Court of Cassation ruled that the negotiations to be held at the Court of Cassation should be postponed to April 17 and the hearings to April 30 due to the outbreak.

In the petition to be submitted to the Constitutional Court, the attorneys have noted that given this postponement and the failure of the Court of Cassation to reply any applications made so far, "they apply to the Constitutional Court so that the danger to Koçak's life, material and immaterial integrity will be eliminated as soon as possible."

The petition of application to the Constitutional Court has also referred to the United Nations' (UN) call "to release political prisoners as COVID-19 can cause a disaster in prisons and isolation is impossible."

His injuries in the Forensic Medical report

The medical report prepared by Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı has also referred to forced intervention and marks of drips on his body:

"The Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS) meetings, the observations of attorneys and the Forensic Medical Institution İzmir Provincial Directorate examination that says that 'there are several injection marks and subcutaneous bleeding areas characterized by petechial punctual bleedings around these marks as well as 0.2-0.3 cm tissue losses in the inner sides of both elbows likely to be caused by flasters' support the information that the person was subjected to injection and drip-feeding."

Report: His injuries within the scope of torture

In the conclusion part of the report, it has been indicated that Mustafa Koçak cannot stay in either prison or hospital:

"When the presented documents prepared for Mustafa Koçak are examined, it needs to be considered that his hospitalization due to prolonged hunger and forced sample taking and treatment by force do not only violate ethical principles, but the injuries caused on the person having bodily difficulties due to prolonged hunger and the qualities of these injuries are accepted to fall within the scope of torture under the Y.07.2 Chapter of the WHO ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases)..."

Accordingly, referring to his low blood values caused by prolonged hunger, paresthesia/loss of strength in arms and legs that can be explained with peripheral nerve injuries and his family's statement that his body-mass index is 11.02 percent, the report has indicated the imprisonment or hospitalization of the the person who has weak immunity due to his prolonged hunger will be life-threatening when the COVID-19 outbreak is considered. (AS/SD)