Ill prisoner Kemal Gömi attacked in prison
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Arrested in Metris Type R Prison in İstanbul, ill prisoner Kemal Gömi was attacked by another prisoner while he was out in the prison yard to get some fresh air. A press statement was held for Gömi at the İstanbul Office of Human Rights Association (İHD) yesterday (March 10).
As reported by Gazete Karınca news website, the statement held at the İHD İstanbul Office in Beyoğlu was attended by Gömi's attorney Raziye Turgut and the members of İHD Prisons Commission.
Gömi's elder brother Feyzullah Gömi, who could not attend the meeting as he had caught COVID-19, sent a written statement.
'His time out for fresh air restricted'
In his statement, elder brother Feyzullah Gömi reminded the audience that Kemal Gömi, who has been behind bars in the last 28 years, has been diagnosed with "chronic schizophrenia" and said:
"My brother was subjected to a physical attack with a sharp object by a person whom we don't know. We know that security in prisons is a must so that justice can operate effectively against crimes.
"Having stayed in various prisons since 1993, my brother, as also confirmed by Forensic Medicine Institution, has chronic schizophrenia and he said for several times that he didn't know where he was, thinking that he was at his own home. Despite the permanent disorder report issued in 2010, his report was not accepted by [the then President] Abdullah Gül.
"Where did this person who attacked my brother find this weapon? Again, as if my brother was to blame for the incident, his time out to get some fresh air has been decreased from two hours to one hour.
"We are worried about my brother's life. We demand that an investigation be launched against this person as soon as possible, this person be penalized for attempted murder and transfered to another prison."
Attorney: I was not allowed to meet him
Gömi's attorney Raziye Öztürk also noted that the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that her client should be treated in a fully-fledged hospital. Saying that they made applications to defer the execution of his sentence and to ensure his treatment at hospital, Öztürk raised concerns that her client cannot exercise his right of treatment now.
"Despite the ECtHR judgement indicating that 'the conditions of execution should be established; otherside, it would mean torture', no improvement has been made in Kemal's conditions," the attorney has said.
Referring to the recent incident of attack in prison, Öztürk stated that they, as the attorney and family of the prisoner, do not know how the incident happened. When the attorney went to prison to be informed about the incident, she was not allowed to meet her client Kemal Gömi, according to Öztürk's remarks at the press statement.
Concluding her remarks, Öztürk said, "It was entirely an arbitrary practice by the administration. According to the available report, the client must not be in prison now. Our primary request is that our client's right to health be safeguarded and the ECtHR judgement be abided by."
About Kemal GömiWhile he was a student He joined the protests of hunger strike and death fast in 1996 and 2000. His health problems got more severe in 2003. He was transferred to the Kocaeli/Kandıra No. 1 Type F Prison after the December 19 Massacre. In the next 10 years, he came back and forth between hospital and prison. He was hospitalized in Kocaeli Public Hospital and Bakırköy Mental Facility in İstanbul several times. In the Forensic Medical Report issued in 2010, it was said that "he had residual schizophrenia and it was a permanent disease." However, he was not pardoned by the then President Abdullah Gül and remained in prison. In the meantime, the Forensic Medicine Institution issued similar reports for 10-12 times. However, in a report issued in 2013, it was indicated that the degree and severity of the disease had been gradually decreasing and, thus, he was in a state to stay in prison." Even though the Forensic Medicine Institution gave a report indicating that "Kemal Gömi should be hospitalized in a fully-fledged and safe hospital", he was kept in prison and under conditions of isolation. His elder brother Feyzullah Gömi gave an interview to Hilal Köse from Cumhuriyet newspaper in 2015 and said that his brother did not know where he was and thought that he was at his own house. His attorneys applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in 2011. This application was finalized in 2019. The ECtHR convicted Turkey of "violation of prohibition of torture and ill treatment" and sentenced the country to pay 10 thousand Euro in damages. |
(EKN/SD)