On a hunger strike for nine months, prisoner Sibel Balaç hospitalized

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Having continued a "death fast" for nearly nine months, prisoner Sibel Balaç has been hospitalized.

Her lawyers had filed an application for the deferral of the execution of her sentence. Balaç was taken to the hospital for a report regarding the application to be prepared.

She is now kept at the prisoners' ward in the Yıldırım Bayezit hospital in Dışkapı, Ankara, where she was taken to for a report

The People's Law Bureau (HHB) said she has lost two kilos more since she was last taken to the hospital on September 6 and now weighs 39 kilos.

The ward she is now being kept in is not ventilated and hygienic, it said.

"Since she was taken to the hospital, a lot of tests have been carried out. Because of these tests, our client has become quite tired and her weight loss has accelerated. She has numbness in her feet and legs and lesions in her mouth.

The tests will be completed today (September 14).

It was clear that Balaç cannot stay in prison due to her condition, and she must be released immediately, said the bureau.

Sibel Balaç in the Silivri Prison and Gökhan Yıldırım in the Tekirdağ No. 1 Prison have been on a hunger strike since December 19 and December 25, respectively. They demand a "fair trial."

On August 15, İleri Kızılaltun joined the hunger strike.

Yıldırım ended his strike after the execution of his sentence was deferred. (AS/VK)