Recovering after death fast, imprisoned lawyer Aytaç Ünsal 'not provided with vitamin B'
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Lawyer Aytaç Ünsal, who is under arrest at the Edirne Type-F Prison, is not able to access pure vitamin B, which is needed for the treatment of neuropathy, his attorney Güçlü Sevimli told bianet.
The drug was prescribed by a neurologist but Ünsal has not been able to receive it because it wasn't prescribed by the prison infirmary doctor, said Sevimli.
Ünsal ended a 215-day death fast demanding a fair trial and accepted treatment in September. He was arrested again on December 10 despite a decision for the postponement of his imprisonment.
"According to both the criminal Execution law and bylaws and regulations, the most fundamental duty of the prison administration is to protect the prisoners' right to life and health," said the attorney.
"This is not a new practice and Edirne is one of the first type-F prisons. Both the prison administration and doctors know that hunger strikers and those who quit hunger strikes should be given vitamin B. It's a simple treatment and its procurement is a routine proceeding."
Saying that there had not been a serious problem in the procurement of vitamin B since the establishment of type-F prisons 20 years ago, Sevimli noted: "There has been a long time since Aytaç's arrest. This creates the impression that the failure to supply the medicine is an attitude specific to him. This problem can be solved immediately at the moment the doctor prescribes the medicine."
An "authorized" judgeship cannot be found
About the legal situation concerning Ünsal, Sevimli said the following:
"There is a Forensic Medicine Institution report stating that Ünsan cannot stay in prison. The execution was postponed based on that but he was detained on the grounds that he left the city.
"Immediately afterward, the İstanbul Prosecutor's Office of Execution lifted the one-year postponement decision and he was arrested.
"After his arrest, an application was made to the İstanbul Judgeship of Execution. İstanbul gave a decision of non-jurisdiction, stating that Edirne, where Ünsal is arrested, has the authority. The Edirne Judgeship of Execution, to which the file was sent, also gave a decision of non-jurisdiction.
"The file is now at the Regional Court of Justice [court of appeals]. It will decide which court is authorized. Because it has not been decided yet, the application can't be concluded."
Ünsal's health "deteriorated after his arrest"
About Ünsal's health condition, Ünsal said, "His health problems continue. He has pain due to nerve crest inflammation in his legs, he can only sit by extending his legs. He says he feels a lot of pain when he sits normally. He also extended his legs during our meeting.
"He sleeps by heightening his feet by putting a pillow under them and said this was very difficult. Also, his legs are red and bruised. The most important thing is that the necessary conditions for his treatment are not provided. His health condition has deteriorated after his arrest.
"The infirmary doctor comes once a week. He opens the peephole, takes a look, says 'Okay, you are alright' and closes it.
"He said the doctor's attitude was very negative. He said, 'He has an attitude that is more like a prison governor than a doctor. He doesn't listen [to me]. I want to tell him about my health. I was kicked out once. He commented, "Your health condition is not very important, you may lose sight after a while," he said.'
What happened?
On a death fast for her right to a fair trial, arrested lawyer Ebru Timtik lost her life in the Dr. Sadi Konuk Training and Research Hospital in İstanbul on the 238th day of her death fast on August 27, 2020.
On September 4, arrested lawyer Aytaç Ünsal, who had also been on a death fast with the same demand, ended his death fast on the condition of being treated by independent physicians after the Court of Cassation released him on probation.
The 16th Penal Chamber of the Court of Cassation handed down its judgment in the trial of Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) and upheld all prison sentences, except for the ones given to lawyers Barkın Timtik, Selçuk Kozağaçlı and Ezgi Çakır.
The Chamber indicated that there was no ground to give a judgment about lawyer Ebru Timtik as she had lost her life on a death fast. The execution of lawyer Aytaç Ünsal's sentence will be deferred until his treatment ends. (AS/VK)