Ill prisoner Ruken Yıldız prevented from having treatment

* Photo: Mezopotamya Agency (MA)

Click to read the article in Turkish

Convicted in Van Type T Women's Closed Prison in Turkey's eastern province of Van, prisoner Ruken Yıldız has a problem with her stomach, cardiac valve and blood pressure and has anemia. Sent behind bars three and a half years ago, Yıldız was sentenced to life imprisonment on charge of "being a member of the organization" a month ago.

Vedat Yıldız, her elder brother, says that she had no health problems before she was imprisoned, but she is now ill due to the prison's poor conditions. He says that there is an attempt to "drive" his sister to death.

'Her transfer is prevented'

As reported by Mehmet Aslan from Mezopotamya Agency (MA), Yıldız is constantly in touch with his sister by phone and through their attorneys. According to Yıldız, the prison administration uses the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse and makes the conditions more unbearable:

"My sister's diseases are getting more serious with each passing day. Though she says she is not in a medical state to stay in prison conditions, the hospital gives a report indicating that she can stay in prison. Moreover, she is not given the vitamins and blood medicine she wants to have.

"Most recently, she has said that she cannot carry on like this due to the climate conditions in Van and requested her transfer to İstanbul, but it is not done, either. On the other side, the outbreak is still a threat. No one says anything about it, either. Like prisoners, the people outside also do not utter a word in the face of such situations.

'Prisoners are subjected to torture'

"They will even fence the place where prisoners go out to get some air. Books have also been confiscated. 16 people are currently staying in a 10-person ward. Vital rights of prisoners are denied as well.

"They are also forced to be counted on foot. As prisoners do not accept it, they are subjected to physical and psychological torture."

Concluding his remarks, elder brother Vedat Yıldız has indicated that ill prisoners need to be released.

1,564 ill prisoners in total, 591 in serious condition

According to the updated version of the "Seriously Ill and Ill Prisoner List" kept by the Human Rights Association (İHD) Central Prison Committee, as of April 2020, there were 1,564 ill prisoners in total behind bars in Turkey and 591 of these ill prisoners were in serious condition.

The İHD listed the necessary precautions as follows:

* All seriously ill prisoners must be immediately released based on a report issued by any well-equipped hospital, their treatment must be accompanied by their families and their health insurance must be met by the state;

* The Forensic Medical Institution must no longer be the sole and final authority to issue reports for deferment of execution due to health;

* The discretionary power of public prosecutors in ruling for the deferment of execution must be abolished and the execution of sentences must be deferred based on the medical reports issued by hospitals;

* The criteria of 'posing threat to social security' standing in the way of ill prisoners' release must be removed from the law;

* Hindering the release of ill prisoners, the clause stipulating that 'execution shall not be suspended' in the Article 25 of the law on criminal execution and the clause no. 16 of the Article 107 must be abolished;

* In accordance with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) verdict of Kaytan vs. Turkey, a suitable date for release must be set in the legal status summaries of prisoners by considering their age and health conditions;

* The aspects indicated by the ECtHR in Gülay Çetin vs. Turkey verdict must be abided by and it must be remembered that any failure to release ill prisoners violates the Article 3 of the ECHR;

* The circular governing the President's authority to release prisoners for reasons of health must be amended, the Forensic Medical Institution must no longer be the sole determinant authority and the President must use his authority for seriously ill prisoners without making any exceptions. (EMK/SD)