Republican People’s Party (CHP) Malatya Province deputy Veli Ağbaba submitted a bill proposal enabling sick inmates to be released without an official consent by Forensics Institute.
The bill, if implemented, will revise Article 16 of Turkey’s Law 5275 on Execution of Correction and Security Measures and will allow inmates to be released without the official consent by Forensics Institute. According to the bill proposal, hospital reports on release will be sufficient instead.
Currently, university and public hospital reports on inmates are sent to Forensics Institute for approval.
“Authorities tend to take political decisions”
Ağbaba wrote the following in the submission:
“There are scores of sick convicts and jailed defendants who are waiting for Forensics Institute approval even if their critical medical conditions have been documented by full-equipped public hospitals or university hospitals.
“The majority of reports are rejected by the Forensics Institute. These cases are mostly reviewed by forensics doctors who are not expert in the given field.
“Forensics Institute tend to ignore reports prepared by university research hospitals.
“Forensics Institute tend to take political decisions which have no scientific, ethical and judicial basis.”
“Danger for public security”
Article 16 of Turkey’s Law on Execution of Correction and Security Measures regulates probations related to inmates health conditions within a medical report approved by Turkey’s Forensics Institute.
Recently, the law has been revised within Turkey’s “3rd Judicial Package”, with an addendum allowing inmates to be released until the end of their treatment as long as “they did not pose a public security threat”.
Ağbaba claimed that the current bill made it difficult for sick inmates to be released as it only contained inmates “who wouldn’t pose a public security threat”.
Ağbaba’s proposal also removes the expression “public threat”.
544 sick inmates with 163 in serious condition
According to statistics released by Justice Ministry in December 2013, there are currently 144,212 inmates in Turkey’s prisons and 2,300 were reported dead in prisons since 2000.
According to a report by Human Rights Foundation (IHD), there are currently 544 sick inmates in prisons with 163 in serious condition. (AS/BM)
