‘Prisoner died of COVID-19 in Elbistan’

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Arrested in Maraş Elbistan Type E Closed Prison, 57-year-old Muhammed Emir from Afrîn lost his life in the District Public Hospital on October 2. Taken to the mortuary of the Forensic Medicine Institution, the deceased body of Emir has been buried in a common grave in İstanbul.

Bringing the issue into the Parliamentary agenda with a Parliamentary question, Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Mardin MP Pero Dundar has indicated that Emir died of novel coronavirus (COVID-19):

"In their phone calls with their families, the people arrested in Elbistan Prison said that several prisoners had contracted the virus, all prisoners were quarantined for 15 days, the seriously ill ones were not treated properly and several prisoners might lose their lives due to the epidemic disease.

"Speaking to the press after he phones his arrested son Salih Şimşek, father Behçet Şimşek said that his son was having difficulties in speaking.

"Indicating that the prison administration had called them 15 days earlier and said, 'Coronavirus has been diagnosed among ordinary prisoners. There is no problem with other prisoners, don't worry,' he referred to the following remarks of his son: 'We have all caught coronavirus. I have been in quarantine for 15 days. Our friend Muhammed Emir lost his life due to corona. We are treated with medication. We have friends in critical condition.'

"Following the death of Muhammed Emir, the medical report prepared by the Elbistan Public Hospital on October 2 has indicated that he lost his life due to an 'epidemic disease/a natural death."

'Is the prison quarantined?'

Against this backdrop, HDP Mardin MP Dundar has addressed a series of questions to Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gül:

• What measures have been taken in Elbistan Type E Closed Prison against the COVID-19 virus?
• How many prisoners are there in the Elbistan Type E Closed Prison? How many prisoners have been tested for the virus? How many of them have tested positive?
• Are there any prisoners who have tested positive and been intubated in the Elbistan Type E Closed Prison? If yes, how many?
• Has Elbistan Type E Prison be quarantined? What is the last time when Elbistan Type E Closed Prison was inspected?
• Did Muhammed Emir, who was arrested in Elbistan Type E Closed Prison, lost his life due to the COVID-19 virus?
• Why was the deceased body of Muhammed Emir, who lost his life in Elbistan Type E Closed Prison, buried in a common grave without his family being informed?
• Have any special measures been taken to protect the prisoners aged 65 and over, the children who stay with their mothers and ill prisoners from the outbreak in Elbistan Type E Closed Prison? If yes, what measures have been taken?

(AS/SD)