ISTANBUL/ ANKARA - Demonstrations for ill prisoners were held in Ankara and Istanbul on 25 November to draw attention to the situation of ill women prisoners and demand their release. 

 

The protests in Istanbul and Ankara drew attention to the situation of ill women prisoners. 

 

ISTANBUL

 

Human Rights Association (İHD) İstanbul Branch Prison Commission organised the 661st protest in front of the branch office in Beyoğlu. On the occasion of the  International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Muhlise Karagüzel, Hanife Arslan and Besra Erol, representing the ill women prisoners, drew attention to their conditions. Meral Nergis Şahin from İHD Prison Commision read the statement.

 

'ILL WOMEN PRISONERS AT RISK'

 

Meral Nergis Şahin stated that violence against women continues as a violation of human rights and a global problem. Emphasising that one out of every three women in Turkey and in the world is subjected to violence, Meral Nergis Şahin stated that the United Nations declared 25 November with the need for states to take responsibility for women, but violence against women continues to increase.

 

Meral Nergis Şahin emphasised that women prisoners are at risk of violence and are subjected to ill-treatment and violation of rights day by day.

 

IHD Istanbul Branch Secretary Oya Ersoy stated that Muhlise Karagüzel, who is being held in Diyarbakır Women's Closed Prison, was arrested in 2019 while continuing her activities as a Peace Mother, and said: "Karagüzel had a heart attack 3 times in a row after her arrest and has heart, diabetes, hypertension, She has asthma, neck and lumbar hernia diseases, insulin injections are given 4 times a day because her blood sugar is very high, she suffers from severe pain because high sugar has damaged her eyes and kidneys, she has difficulty breathing due to asthma and cannot sleep. Although Karagüzel, who has a 90 per cent disability report, needs dietary nutrition, this need is not met, which increases her health problems. Muhlise Karagüzel, whose execution was postponed twice for her to receive treatment and who is on the list of ill prisoners of İHD, was detained at her son's house in Diyarbakır after Muş Prosecutor's Office issued an arrest warrant for her and was brought to the courthouse. After the proceedings there, Karagüzel was taken to Diyarbakır Women's Closed Prison for the execution of her sentence of nearly one year. Karagüzel was issued an arrest warrant after his application for a stay of execution was rejected."

 

COPD, STOMACH, ULCER, DIABETES AND HEART DISEASE

 

Oya Ersoy drew attention to the fact that Hanife Arslan, an 80-year-old seriously ill prisoner in Van Type T prison, suffers from COPD, stomach ulcer, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure and said: "She also suffers from intense pain and severe mobility difficulties due to fluid depletion in the joints, and has difficulty breathing due to the damage to her lungs after Covid-19. Hanife Arslan, who is struggling to survive in unfavourable prison conditions with the problems related to old age added to these diseases, can even do her personal care with the help of others."

 

RISK OF VISION LOSS

 

Oya Ersoy stated that Besra Erol, who is in Elazığ Women's Closed Prison, is in constant pain at the age of 65 due to herniated disc, sciatica and high blood pressure, although she underwent surgery twice when she was outside, and said that Erol has difficulty walking and faces the risk of losing her vision completely.

 

ILL PRISONER WOMEN IN MARMARA REGION

 

Oya Ersoy listed the names of imprisoned women in prisons in Marmara Region as follows: “Muhlise Karagüzel, Hanife Arslan ve Besra Erol gibi kadın hasta tutsak listesinde yer alan Hatice Onaran, Tenzile Acar, Özge Özbek, Fatma Tokmak, Aysun Şahin, Hatice Yıldız, Bese Özer,  Diren Yaşa, Fadime Coşar, Fatma Demir, Eylem Baş, Güneş Tekin, Havva Ak, Mesude Pehlivan, Saime Afşin, Seval Yaprak, Şükran Avşar, Yasemin Karadağ, Zeliha Bulut, Dilek Öz, Elif Yaş, Laleş Çeliker, Süreyya Bulut, Burcu Çınar, Cemray Baş, Deniz Tepeli, Derya Moray, Gönül Erdoğan, Helin Öncü, İpek Ciğredaş, Lorin İnanç, Nazlı Çatpınar, Nihal Altuntaş, Nurhan Yılmaz, Özlem Taşdemir, Özlem Yavuz, Selma Üstündağ, Serpil Cabadan, Sevgi Saymaz, Songül Yıldırım, Şivekâr Ataş, Şükran Aydın, Türkan İpek, Yeliz Türkmen, Hazine Alçı, Jiyan Erdinç, Kamile Kayır, Ruhşan Bozan, Felek Gün, Dilan Saruhan, Delal Tekdemir, Melek Akgün, Fadime Çelebi, Leyla Aygün, Zeynep Genlioğlu."

 

ANKARA

 

Freedom for Ill Prisoners Initiative came together in the 533rd week of their protests to draw attention to the situation of ill prisoners. The initiative drew attention to the situation of ill women prisoners in Sincan Women's Closed Prison and Kayseri Women's Closed Prison.

 

The statement was made by Nuray Çevirmen, member of the Central Executive Committee (MYK) of IHD, while the banner "Treatment is a Right and cannot be Prevented" was unfurled in Sakarya Street. Nuray Çevirmen listed the names and illnesses of the prisoners in these prisons as follows:

 

SINCAN WOMEN'S CLOSED PRISON

 

"* Ayşe Gökkan: Her hearing is impaired and she also has heart problems.

 

"* Ayşe Topçu: She has shrapnel fragments in her lungs and back. When she gets the slightest cold, she has difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, sometimes cramps.

 

* Bermal Birtek: Heart Patient

 

* Elif Çetinbaş: She has rosacea (rose) disease. She has goitre and herniated disc and underwent surgery in 2020.

 

* Fadik Adıyaman: She's had two hysterectomies. She has thyroid disease and polyps in the stomach

 

* Gülşan Adet: She has chronic ankylosing spondolitis (joint inflammation) and ulcer diseases. In June 2021, as a result of the MRI taken in June, vascular occlusion was detected in the brain. She has cervical hernia, neck flattening and lumbar disc herniation.

 

* Nedime Yaklav: She has kidney disease. She also has goiter, allergies and high blood pressure.

 

* Özge Özbek: She underwent surgery for a brain tumour. She received a 3-month postponemenet but was put back in prison. Her brain tumours are still present adn her stay in prison has progressed and diseases with symptoms of imbalance suc as epilepsy and vertigo have recurred. Brain tumours put pressure on the organs. Currently, there is a 72 percent hearing loss in the left ear due to the tumour, trembling in the hands, sometimes incontinence of urine. THis will cause loss of vision, memory and movement in the future. 

 

* Pınar Tikit: She has an arachnoid cyst in the brain. The cyst is currently 8 centimetres, she is experiencing attacks in the form of fainting and crisis. When the cyst is 10 centimetres, surgical intervention will be mandatory despite the risks.

 

* Rihan Kavak Özbek: She has muscle and nerve wasting. She has asthma. She was diagnosed with toxic goitre and underwent surgery. She has a herniated disc. Since she has a mass in her breasts, she has a mammogram once a year. She suffers from panic attacks.

 

* Selver Ispir: Heart patient

 

* Selver Yıldırım: She lost her right eye and since her other eye was not treated, her vision dropped to 20 percent and she cannot meet her reading and writing needs because of oedema in one eye. She also has partial loss of function in her hands and arms.

 

* Sermin Demirdağ: Ulcer and asthma patient

 

* Şükran Aydın: She has intestinal disorders.

 

* Zerrin Yılmaz: Suffers from panic attacks. She also has hashimoto's disease

 

KAYSERI WOMEN'S CLOSED PRISON

 

* Dicle Bozan: One of her legs was amputated and there are shrapnel fragments in the other leg. She is wearing a colostomy bag because her intestines were destroyed. She also has migraine attacks and suffers from epilepsy, which causes her to constantly faint. 

 

* Dilek Arsu: She has vertigo and a herniated disc. She is constantly bleeding, but she is not taken to the gynaecologist, she has not been diagnosed.

 

* Dilşad Şengül: She has majour damage to her heart and lungs due to the injury. Her oesophagus was shattered and half of her right lung is not working. Since a pocket was formed in her oedophagus, she has difficulty in eating and swallowing. The explosive substance that hit her ribs mixed with the blood, reached the heart and tore the main vein that carries the dirty blood returning to the heart from the level of the body above the heart, that is, from the head, neck and arms, and this vein was sutured. She has a limitation of move in her right arm due to injury and it is progressing, there is tightness in the muscles, she cannot lift her right arm. Pinky, middle and ring finger amputated

 

* Elif Deniz: Asthma patient

 

* Gülazer Akın: She has 8-10 mm calcareous cyst in her kidneys for more than 10 years. She has been having swallowing problems for three years. She had stomach films taken several times. Her fingers and hands swell, she cannot bend or hold anything due to pain. She has a herniated disc.

 

* Gülgeş Tatlı: She has epilepsy, has an attack every 5-6 months and faints. She has a clot in her left arm and it causes a lot of pain. She has bullet and shrapnel fragments in her arm, she has no bone structure. She also has bullets and shrapnel fragments in her back, feet and abdomen. She was told by the doctors that "she needs surgery but her body cannot take it". Only blood analyses are being done.

 

* Güzel Sarac: Diabetic

 

* Hacer Halil Yusuf: She has been in prison for 26 years, she has a problem in her immune system. There is a problem with her breast, the disease is progressing

 

* Hiyem Yolcu: There are festering sores on the legs. Leucocyte levels in the blood are low.

 

* Jiyan Ay: She has a herniated disc and her legs are occasionally stiff.

 

* Media Aslan: She has severe asthma. She also has a herniated disc disease

 

* Melek Akgün: 58 years old. She has a heart disease, mitral valve insufficiency. A stent was implanted and she needs to undergo angiography again. She has hypertension and also coronary artery disease. She has COPD, acute exacerbations were diagnosed in the examinations. She has osteoporosis, i.e. advanced osteoporosis. She has rheumatoid arthritis and has been taking cortisone for 20 years. She has a slipped back. She has chronic renal failure and her kidneys are functioning at about 37 percent. There is hearing loss in the ears and there are also disorders such as cataracts in the eyes. Due to all these diseases, a report was issued on 21.12.2023 stating that she is 82 percent disabled. She is constantly taken to and from the hospital due to her illnesses. Melek Akgün, who could not even walk to the phone call she made with her family, was brought with the arm of the guards and balanced.

 

* Naime Encü: She has cataract in one eye. She has a tumour in one eye and will undergo surgery. Dental treatment is not provided. She has a herniated disc in her back and neck. She has meniscus in her knees. She has hearing problems due to perforated eardrum and inflammation. She also suffers from lung problems.

 

* Nazlı Soglin: During the 12 years she has been in prison, she has developed ulcers in her stomach, blockage and stains on two vessels in her brain, thickening of her heart valve, joint disease, cysts in her ovaries, and shortness of breath.

 

* Nergiz Okan: She underwent surgery on her arm and had a platinum implant, but she needs to be operated on again.

 

* Özgül Yaşa: She has diabetes. She has wounds on her face and chin.

 

* Songül Aydın: She suffers from panic attacks. In addition, she has recently started to suffer from liver problems and her treatment has been delayed.

 

* Şilan Çetiner: She has a mass in her brain. She suffers from vomiting, headache, trembling and ear buzzing. She also has a fracture in her neck bone.

 

* Zerga Açar: 59 years old, had surgery on both eyes and cannot use her left hand."