The release of Mehmet Sait Yıldırım, a 74-year-old prisoner who has been incarcerated for 30 years and suffers from serious health problems, has been postponed for a second time by prison authorities.
The administration of İzmir Kırıklar No. 1 F-Type High-Security Prison cited "lack of good conduct" and "lack of remorse" as grounds for delaying his release.
Yıldırım had completed his sentence on Feb 27, but the prison's Administrative and Monitoring Board blocked his release. On Nov 25, the board issued a second delay, setting the next evaluation for Aug 25, 2026.
Convicted of membership in the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Yıldırım has spent the past eight years in solitary confinement. His lawyers have criticized the justification for extending his sentence as “arbitrary and baseless.”
Remarks during phone call cited as reason
One of the reasons provided was a monitored phone call between Yıldırım and his nephew Önder Yıldırım. During the conversation, Yıldırım referred to a pro-Kurdish media outlet as “our TV, our newspaper.” The board interpreted this as evidence of continued ties to the organization. The call was conducted within the scope of his legal rights.
The board also cited the presence of photos in Yıldırım’s cell of Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan, and Leyla Şaylemez—three senior PKK figures assassinated in Paris in 2013. His lawyer, Fatma Demirer, noted that prison staff conduct daily inspections and had never raised objections to the photos before. She added that the photos were already in the cell before Yıldırım’s transfer to this prison, and said presenting them as grounds for denying release was an "arbitrary act."
Another point raised by the board was a quote attributed to Kurdish Alevi leader Seyit Rıza, who was executed in the 1930s: “I could not stand against your lies; let that be my burden. But I did not kneel before you either; let that be yours.”
According to Demirer, Yıldırım said this to console his brother Hasan Yıldırım, who had died of a heart attack a month earlier. The board nevertheless included the statement in its assessment as another indication of organizational ties.
'He cannot remain in solitary confinement'
Demirer also recalled that Yıldırım was among five prisoners sent to İmralı High-Security Prison ten years ago at the request of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan during a reconciliation process. He remained there for nine days before being transferred out due to medical concerns. Since then, he has been held in solitary confinement.
“There are two medical reports stating that he cannot remain in isolation,” said Demirer. “Despite this, he has been held alone since being moved to İzmir. After his brother’s death last month, someone was temporarily placed in his cell at our request, but that person was removed again on Nov 18. He is now alone again. We filed an objection, but haven’t received a response.”
'Even if I die here, I will leave with my honor intact'
Yıldırım, speaking through his lawyer to independent news outlet bianet, shared his views on the decision.
“My death sentence from 1996 was commuted to life imprisonment. After 30 years, I should have been released, but they’re refusing. They’ve postponed my release again, citing so-called bad behavior,” he said. “When I appeared before the board, I told them: you’re effectively trying to carry out a death sentence. If you want to apply capital punishment so badly, then be honest and take me to the courtyard and hang me. At least I’d know I was sentenced to death, and you’d admit you executed it.
“You know about my chronic conditions. The reports are in your hands. You are pushing me toward death and trying to present it as natural. In reality, you are using natural death as a way to carry out the death penalty. That has no place in criminal law. As a prison authority, your only job is to enforce the sentence given.”
“I inherited two things from my family: one is chronic heart disease—every member of my family has it. The other is the honor passed down from my ancestors. Even if I die here, I will leave with my honor intact. I won’t leave in any other way. Everyone should know that the will of a revolutionary who has dedicated his entire life to the freedom of his people cannot be broken.” (AB/VK)
