‘Ebru, blink if you hear me’

* Photo: İdil Fosem

Click to read the article in Turkish

"She communicates by writing. But, today, she had great difficulty in writing, too. She could only write that she was so tired. She is so exhausted that she can barely respond. We say, 'Blink if you hear me' and she blinks. She nods to say 'Yes' or 'No'."

It is how attorney Betül Vangölü Kozağaçlı describes the current health condition of Ebru Timtik, the arrested lawyer on a death fast.

Speaking to bianet after meeting her in Bakırköy Dr. Sadi Konuk Hospital syesterday (August 26), attorney Vangölü Kozağaçlı has reiterated that they demand the immediate release of death fasting lawyers.

"We heard before that she had swellings in her stomach, these swellings are still there and they give her so much pain. She probably has a problem with her digestive system. She writhes in pain."

'She can sip water from a syringe'

Sharing the current information about Timtik's health, attorney Betül Vangölü Kozağaçlı has said that "she is so exhausted, so weak and so thin":

"She is so exhausted that she tries to speak, but her voice is not heard, we could not hear her voice. Today was one of the days when she was tired and weak due to her pains.

"She is conscious, she understands what we say, but her condition is very concerning. She also has great difficulty in taking liquids, sugar and vitamin B1.

"Her hospital attendant opens the capsule of vitamin B1, mixes the powder inside the capsule with water and makes her drink it with a syringe. It is also how she can drink water. By sipping from a syringe...

"Her throat has been in a bad condition for a long time, she is now suffering torture to stay alive.

"She was weighed some time ago, she weighed 33 kilograms. Now, she does not have any kilos to lose, either. Her body does not have any muscle and fat left."

'You will be released and we will go to Dersim'

Reminding us that Ebru Timtik is from Turkey's eastern province of Dersim, attorney Betül Vangölü Kozağaçlı has continued as follows:

"Around two months ago, she said, 'When we leave this place, we will take sister Betül with us and stay in Dersim for a month.' I reminded her of this today, she nodded in agreement. And I said, 'You will be released and we will go there.'

"First of all, we request a ruling of release before the final ruling of the 16th Penal Chamber of the Court of Cassation. It is too urgent to wait for the end of the judiciary recess.

"If the court does not give a ruling of release now and waits for the final ruling in the file, it will mean giving a death sentence. We think that they are also aware of it. We, as their attorneys, submitted a petition. The chairs of bar associations met them.

"Moreover, the diagnoses about her health condition are not made only by us, her physicians express the same risks, too. We are waiting for their release as soon as possible."

'Conditions make even a healthy person sick'

The People's Law Bureau (HHB) has also shared information about the hospital conditions and current health condition of Timtik:

"Ebru has been held in a stuffed room, constantly exposed to light and in a noisy environment for 27 days. As she is on a death fast, her sensitivity to several stimuli such as light and voice has increased. The conditions where Ebru stays are so bad that they can make even a healthy person sick.

"The condition of Timtik has deteriorated as of August 23, she has difficulty in liquid intake. Moreover, her vitamin and sugar intake has decreased to such an extent that it has almost stopped, which puts her life at a greater risk and makes this risk bigger and bigger with each passing second."

Making a statement in front of the hospital where Ebru Timtik is held in Bakırköy, İstanbul, Yıldız Deniz, her maternal aunt, said, "We wait every day, every minute, fearing that something will happen to our daughter. What is the Court of Cassation waiting for?"

What happened?

Announcing its verdict in the lawsuit filed against the Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) lawyers on March 20, the court ruled that the lawyers should be sentenced to 3 years, 1 month, 15 days to 18 years, 9 months in prison. Among them were also Ebru Timtik and Aytaç Ünsal, who were sentenced to 13 years, 6 months and 10 years, 6 months in prison respectively on charge of "organization membership."

The 2nd Penal Chamber of the İstanbul Regional Court of Justice rejected the objections and sent the file to the Court of Cassation.

On a death fast in prison for their right to a fair trial, arrested lawyers Ebru Timtik and Aytaç Ünsal were not released despite a Forensic Medical report indicating that "they were not in a state to stay in prison." Shortly afterwards, they were taken to two separate hospitals on July 30.

An application was made to the Constitutional Court for arrested lawyers Timtik and Ünsal on August 10, 2020.

Rejecting death fasting lawyers' request for release, the Constitutional Court neither examined the medical reports nor their statements on not being treated at hospital. "There is no serious danger posed to their material or immaterial integrity," it has concluded. (AS/SD)