At least 59 ill prisoners lost their lives in Turkey in a year

* Photo: İHD

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The Marmara Region Prison Monitoring Delegation, an umbrella platform of rights, law and health organizations, made a statement for press about the condition in Turkey's prisons today (January 12).

Consisting of representatives from the Human Rights Association (İHD), Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD), TUHAYDER, TAYAD and Solidarity with Prisoners Initiative, the delegation stated that they will keep on working until the violations of rights in prisons end.

At the press statement held in the İHD İstanbul Branch, it was noted that the grave violations of rights in prisons are gradually becoming systematic and the problem has come to a deadlock in several respects, from the violations of right to healthcare to the violations of right to communication, from torture and ill treatment to obstacles to accessing justice.

1,605 ill prisoners, 604 seriously

According to the statement, at least seven prisoners have lost their lives in different prisons in Turkey over the past month. The rights organizations raised concerns that "it is now seen as an ordinary incident in the country that the dead body of a person is taken out of a prison any time."

Referring to the Justice Ministry data, the delegation recalled that there are 297 thousand 726 prisoners, including 38 thousand 43 arrested people, in Turkey's prisons as of December 31, 2021.

Citing the İHD data, the statement also indicated that as of March 2021, there are at least 1,605 ill prisoners, 604 of whom are seriously ill.

"In 2021, at least 59 ill prisoners, seven of whom shortly after the execution of their prison sentences had been deferred, lost their lives," reiterated the Marmara Region Prison Monitoring Delegation.

Rights organizations underlined that the state is responsible for the health and lives of prisoners in prisons and obliged to ensure that they have access to their right to medical treatment and healthcare.

Seven deaths in a month

The delegation shared the following information about the ones who have lost their lives in Turkey's prisons over the past month:

• November 12, 2021 - Held in the İskenderun Type T Prison, 33-year-old Bangin Muhammed lost his life on the grounds that he had not been treated despite being severely ill.
• December 9, 2021 - Held in the Kocaeli No. 1 Type F High Security Closed Prison, Garibe Gezer was found dead in the padded cell where she had been isolated. The administration stated that she had committed suicide. Conducting an investigation, the prosecutor's office first imposed a confidentiality order on the file.
• December 15, 2021 - Held in the İzmir Aliağa Şakran Type T Prison, 65-year-old Abdülrezzak Şuyur lost his life in his cell because he had not been released despite his advanced cancer.
• December 15, 2021 - In the severely ill prisoners' list of the İHD, Halil Günel lost his life in his cell in the Diyarbakır No. 2 Prison.
• December 17, 2021 - Sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment over a judicial case and held in the Bolu Type T Closed Prison, 32-year-old İlyas Demir lost his life in the cell where he was staying alone.
• December 18, 2021 - Held in the Antalya Type Closed Prison due to a judicial case, Mustafa Gaffar was found hanged with a bad sheet by the personnel who came to his ward.
• December 19, 2021 - Arrested in the Tekirdağ No. 2 Type F High Security Closed Prison, Vedat Erkmen suspiciously died in his cell; the administration informed his family that he had committed suicide.

(AS/SD)