Ill prisoner Halil Güneş loses his life in prison

* Photo: Social media

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Halil Güneş, a cancer patient, lost his life in the Diyarbakır No. 2 Prison in the morning today (December 15).

Güneş was on the list of ill prisoners kept by the Human Rights Association (İHD). Sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment and behind bars for 29 years, Güneş was 49 years old and treated for lung and bone cancer. 

In 2014, the Diyarbakır Gazi Yaşargil Training and Research Hospital, a public hospital, gave a medical report for Güneş and said that "he could not stay in prison." However, the Forensic Medicine Institution's report found that "he could sustain his life alone and stay in prison."

Application to top court bore no results

Ill prisoner Halil Güneş's lawyers applied to the Constitutional Court, the top court of Turkey, as his cancer progressed. The lawyers requested his release and the continuation of his medical treatment outside. However, this application remained inconclusive.

In those days, the Diyarbakır Branch of the İHD collected 10,000 signatures demanding Güneş's release; the signatures were sent to the Constitutional Court on March 11, 2014; but they also bore no results.

He should have used a respirator for life

In his lung CT scan 2007, dozens of tumors in nearly 1 centimeter in diameter were found. While he was undergoing a rib cage surgery due to the torture he were subjected to, he was diagnosed with bone cancer.

Operated twice, Güneş was also diagnosed with severe KOAH and sleep apnea; doctors told him that he should sleep with a respirator (breathing machine) for the rest of his life and use an oxygen mask during the day.

At least 59 ill prisoners have lost their lives

In a statement released by the İHD Prisons Commision yesterday (December 14), it was reiterated that there are 1,605 ill prisoners in Turkey's prisons and 604 of them are in a serious condition.

Since early 2020, at least 59 ill prisoners, seven of whom shortly after the deferment of the execution of their prison sentences, have lost their lives, according to the report of the association. (RT/SD)