There are 110 Ill Women Behind Bars, Says Human Rights Association

* Photo: Evrim Kepenek / bianet

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The 415th sit-in protest for inmates in Turkey's Type-F prisons was held in İstanbul on Saturday (March 7) ahead of International Women's Day.

On the occasion of March 8, the Prisons Commission of the Human Rights Association (İHD) İstanbul Branch raised concerns over the condition of ill women inmates and called on the authorities to release them.

The weekly protest held in front of the İHD İstanbul Branch in Beyoğlu was also attended by Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) MP Musa Piroğlu.

Reading out the statement for the press, Meral Şahin Nergis reminded that audience that ill inmate Nahice Türemiş was released on March 6. Expressing sorrow over the death of Aysel Koç in Sincan Prison in Ankara, she stated that Koç had epilepsy, but her exact cause of death would be determined after the post-mortem examination.

'Naked body search imposed on inmates'

According to the İHD figures shared by Nergis, there were 10,208 women inmates and a total of 1,333 ill prisoners as of 2018.

Raising concerns that the right to access healthcare of women inmates, especially that of ill ones, is turned into torture, Nergis also said that medical examination in handcuffs and naked body search are imposed on inmates when they go and return from hospitals.

There are at least 110 ill inmates behind bars in Turkey, according to Nergis. At least 50 of these women are in critical condition.

Ill women inmates

On the occasion of March 8 International Women's Day, Nergis attracted attention to the following ill women inmates:

Sıti Gören: She is held in Van Type-T Prison. She is 70 years old and has platinum rods in her both arms. She also has diabetes and is a patient with blood pressure problems. The more she stays behind bars, the more severe her health condition gets. Just like other ill inmates, the right to health of Sıti Gören is violated and her life is put at risk.

Gülistan Abdo: She was arrested in 1994 and is held in Gebze Type-M Prison. The wound in her leg was not treated for years. Her left leg was amputated from her knee down and replaced with a prosthetic limb. She has difficulty in sustaining her life with this prosthetic leg. As the leg runs on batteries, they need to renewed frequently. This need of hers is not met.

Dicle Bozan: She is an inmate who tries to live with her intestines outside her body. She says that she is not taken to a hospital for a long time. Exiled from Menemen Type-R Prison to Elazığ Prison while she was on hunger strike, Bozan was told that she would be held in solitary confinement after the surgery. As she is also suffering from cardiac problems, such an imposition is nothing but to tell her "You can die as you wish."

Fatma Özbay: Transferred from Erzurum Women's Closed Prison to Şakran Women's Closed Prison, she has been behind bars for 22 years. She is diagnosed with stage-three cancer. Having undergone mastectomy, Özbay was not allowed to have a hospital attendant and taken back to prison 9 days after the surgery. Even her medicine are given to her as a result of public pressure. In short, Özbay's right to treatment is prevented. (EMK/SD)