At least 1,517 ill prisoners behind bars in Turkey

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The Prisons Commission of the Human Rights Association (İHD) announced its updated list of ill prisoners at a press conference today (April 29).

Accordingly, there are 1,517 ill prisoners in Turkey's prisons with 651 of them seriously ill. There are some 341,502 prisoners in the country.

In 2021, at least 46 ill prisoners died in prisons, according to the İHD. Also, three ill prisoners lost their lives shortly after their release.

Speaking at the press conference, İHD Co-Chair Öztürk Türkdoğan said the number of ill prisoners were on the increase, adding that all prisoners who cannot look after themselves should be released.

The Forensic Medicine Institute (ATK) should not be the sole authority to decide whether ill prisoners can stay in prison or not, said Türkdoğan, noting that the agency ignores the criterion of "being able to look after oneself unaided" of the criminal enforcement law.

He recalled ATK's reports about Kurdish politician Aysel Tuğluk, who is kept in prison despite being diagnosed with dementia, and Mehmet Emin Özkan, an 83-year-old prisoner who is also kept in prison despite having several illnesses.

Reports from full-fledged hospitals and university hospitals should be sufficient for ill prisoners' release, he added. (RT/VK)