MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Amed- There are currently 1,605 sick prisoners in Turkish prisons, 604 of whom are critically ill, according to the 2021 report of the Human Rights Association (IHD). Since the outbreak of the Covid-19, sick prisoners have faced many difficulties in accessing medical services. Although they have reports suggesting their release from the Turkish Forensic Medicine Institute, they have been kept in prisons by the Ministry of Justice for “security” reasons. IHD, NGOs, and relatives of prisoners have called on the government to release the sick prisoners but the government hasn’t responded to their demand.

Mahsun Saruhan is behind bars with the wound on his foot

Mahsun Saruhan is one of 40 people evacuated from the Sur district of Amed (Diyarbakır) during the clashes that took place in the district in 2015. He is also one of the 1,605 sick prisoners in Turkish prisons. He was hit by a piece of shrapnel and wounded in his foot and arrested as soon as being evacuated from Sur. Since then, he has been denied medical treatment in jail. His mother Sulhiye Saruhan calls on the government to release all sick prisoners.

“My son has not been treated even once”

Mahsun Saruhan, who has been sentenced to 26 years in prison, has been held in the Tekirdağ F-Type Closed Prison. His mother Sulhiye Saruhan told us that her son has faced many rights violations in the prison. “My son was wounded in his foot in Sur. The first responders were himself and his friends. He hasn’t been treated even once since he was evacuated from Sur. He was constantly transferred to different prisons so he went to a hospital very late. The doctors told him, “We cannot do anything for your foot, it is too late now.” My son has been left alone with his wounded foot. He lives in pain, particularly in winter. He tells me that his foot becomes thinner day by day,” Sulhiye Saruhan told us.

“The country invests in only war and prisons”

Emphasizing that there are hundreds of sick prisoners like her son, Sulhiye Saruhan said, “People have been held in prisons even if they are innocent and they have faced many challenges there. I have sent clothes to my son many times but they have been sent me back. Why are sick prisoners held in prison? Sick prisoners must be released. The country invests in only war and prisons. All prisons are full now.”

“They give us moral support”

Highlighting that the prisoners give them moral support although they have faced many rights violations, Sulhiye Saruhan said, “The prisoners are more hopeful than us. Since the outbreak of the Covid-19, all contact visits have been suspended. Contact visits should be allowed.”