‘Lift the Prison Sentence of 85-Year-Old Ill Inmate, Let Him Spend His Final Days at Home’

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"My client was held accountable for the assassination of Brigadier General Bahtiyar Aydın in 1993. In fact, the documents showed that he had nothing to do with the incident. He was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment in spite of that. If Ahmet Turan Kılıç, one of those who burned people to death in Sivas, could be pardoned because he was 'sick' and 'old', why is Mehmet Emin Özkan not released?"

This question is addressed by Serdar Çelebi, the attorney of Mehmet Emin Özkan, who is an ill prisoner held in Diyarbakır Prison for 23 years.

As for the "pardon" that he talks about, it refers to Ahmet Turan Kılıç, who was convicted of killing 35 people in Sivas Massacre in 1993.

With a decree published on the Official Gazette on January 31, President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pardoned Ahmet Turan Kılıç, who is now 86 years old and was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment.

CLICK - 'There are Hundreds of Ill Prisoners'

Kılıç was first given capital punishment. However, as it was abolished in Turkey, his punishment has been turned into aggravated life sentence.

Lawyer Çelebi reminds us that there are hundreds of ill prisoners in a similar condition and reacts against the failure to release his client.

'He was given a life sentence without evidence'

Lawyer Çelebi shares the following information on Özkan:

"My client was held accountable for the assassination of Brigadier General Bahtiyar Aydın in the district of Lice in Diyarbakır in 1993. Lice was burned down in that period, dozens of people lost their lives. The incident has gone down in history as Lice Massacre.

"My client was taken into custody in Mersin in 1996 for allegedly 'being a member of a [terrorist] organization.' He was put on trial for killing Brigadier General Aydın based on the statements of two witnesses, who then withdrew these statements. All through the judicial process, we tried to explain that he did not have anything to do with the incident. My client was given an aggravated life sentence without any evidence.

'Indictment: No information as to his participation'

"Throughout his 23 years behind bars, my client has changed six prisons. In 2014, the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office prepared an indictment one day before the Lice case would drop due to prescription and indicated that 'the minutes pertaining to these statements were examined by being summoned from the related court; however, no information as to the participation of Mehmet Emin Özkan in this act was found.' This finding became a hope for Özkan, who had been behind bars since 1996.

"The indictment said that the incident in Lice was organized by the JİTEM* and demanded that the then Diyarbakır Gendarmerie Regiment Commander retired Colonel Eşref Hatipoğlu and First Lieutenant Tünay Yanardağ be penalized. They were acquitted at the end of the trial.

"We, the attorneys of Özkan, appealed to the Adana 7th Heavy Penal Court and requested that a retrial be held and Özkan be released by a suspension of execution. The court accepted the request for retrial.

"However, during that period, the file was not opened and no trial was held as the file kept circulating among Eskişehir, Diyarbakır and Adana Courthouses on the pretext of 'We are not the competent court.' The retrial finally started at Adana Courthouse. In the hearing held on January 31, 2020, no verdicts of release were given for Özkan though he has a medical report proving that he is 87 percent unable to stay in prison."

'Let him spend his last hours with his family'

Indicating that the hearing has been adjourned to May, lawyer Çelebi has made a call to President and ruling AKP Chair Erdoğan:

"Mehmet Emin Özkan no longer has the health condition to leave prison and build a new life. All we want is that he spend his last minutes with his family. He is also at the list of seriously ill inmates of the Human Rİghts Association (İHD). If you can grant an amnesty, then take on responsibility for Özkan, too. Take action for Özkan, too."

(EMK/SD)

* "Gendarmerie Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism" or "Gendarmerie Intelligence Organization" (JİTEM) is a controversial wing and intelligence agency of the Gendarmerie in Turkey.