Ill prisoner’s life at risk: Still behind bars despite being released 3 times before

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"It was in July when I could see my son for the last time. We talked on the phone yesterday. He was sounding worse. I asked, 'Do you feel unwell again?' He said, 'Mom, I am always unwell. I am trying to sleep all the time to not feel my pains. How much I can sleep... It is also a riddle'."

Devrim Ayrık is a 31-year-old ill prisoner. He has been released three times in the trial over "[terrorist / illegal] organization membership" since 2015. But everytime he was released, he was jailed again.

In 2017, when he was arrested for the first time, he was suffering from Crohn's disease (a type of inflammatory bowel disease). Before he was jailed, his intestines had been partially removed. He had a relapse in prison; he had another surgery and a part of his intestines was removed again.

When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Turkey in March 2020, he was released to house arrest as his life was at risk. However, this was the case for only 10 months. He has been arrested since January 2021.

Hülya Ayık, the mother of Devrim Ayık with no vision in one eye and 30 degrees myope in the other, demands her son's release so that he can be treated. The above remarks are uttered by Hülya Ayık.

Noting that her son is held in the Eskişehir Type H Prison, Hülya Ayık says that she has been unable to see her son for months. Because the family lives in Antalya's Side in the Mediterranean region:

When the bans on visitations in prison due to coronavirus come on top of this, visitations become almost impossible.

'They cannot take care of my son there'

Mother Hülya Ayık says that she talked to Devrim Ayık on the phone the other day (October 31) and they had the following conversation:

"We talked about his illness. He was sounding unwell. I asked, 'Do you feel unwell again?' He said, 'Mom, I already feel unwell all the time.' He said, 'I am now trying to sleep all the time to not feel my pains. How much I can sleep... It is also a riddle. I am always in bed.'

"His treatment has become much more difficult after he was sent to prison. His illness progressed even more.

"His doctor told him, 'Try not to be operated on for the third time. If you have another surgery, it will be very difficult to pull through.' But his wounds are growing with each passing day. Ulcer has spread. 1 meter of his intestines has already been removed. He cannot have another surgery now.

"He was hospitalized in early October. He stayed in hospital for 10 days. He underwent colonoscopy there and the doctors saw that his illness had progressed too much and big wounds had opened. He is now being treated with injections and nutritional supplements in prison, but if my son undergoes another surgery, it will mean that he will have to live with a bag.

"They cannot take care of him there."

'Quarantine period makes things harder'

Hülya Ayık says that she made dozens of applications for her son's release; however, none of her petitions has been found admissible. Similarly, the petitions submitted by her son and his lawyer have not been accepted, either. Ayık raises concerns about the prison conditions:

"Devrim is now sustaining his life thanks to the support of his friends; they can meet his needs. But everytime he goes to the hospital, he has to go through the quarantine process, which makes things harder for him. He is already taken to the wrong doctor all the time.

"While he is supposed to be taken to a gastrologist, he was taken to the general surgery once and to the internal medicine the other time. Both doctors said that it was not in their fields of specialization and sent him back. The result: A sole quarantine at both times. His period of quarantine was extended by being sent to the wrong doctor and he stayed on his own."

'Prison is no different than the ground'

Noting that her son will appear before the judge on November 4, Hülya Ayık says, "We never lose hope. We are waiting. We are waiting for a surprise. Perhaps my son will come to me, at least with release to house arrest."

Mother Ayık recalls that his son is the only arrested defendant in the trial that has been going on since 2015; the other two defendants have never been found: "There is no concrete evidence in the file, no eyewitnesses... The statements of anonymous witnesses have been refuted. There is no technical surveillance, nothing... Devrim is arrested despite all these."

Concluding her remarks, mother Hülya Ayık underlines that laws do not allow for such long periods of pre-trial detention and adds:

"Since 2015, the other defendants of the case have been nowhere to be found. If these people are not found, will my son die in prison? Is this justice? They should at least separate the files of these two people and give a ruling on Devrim. Why do they keep us waiting more?

"The four walls of the prison are no different than the ground for him. Keeping Devrim in the grave alive has neither sense nor benefit. This is my call to all defenders of justice. This is my call to the Justice Ministry and Health Ministry. Take my son's health into consideration and decide accordingly." (HA/SD)