ISTANBUL - Stating that the "new circular" issued by the Ministry of Justice for ill prisoners is not a solution, İHD Istanbul Branch President Gülseren Yoleri said that deaths in prisons should now be discussed as "murder".

 

Seriously ill prisoners held in prisons are not released despite all efforts. According to the April 2022 data published by the Human Rights Association (İHD), 76 prisoners lost their lives in the last year, and there are still 1,517 ill prisoners in prisons, 651 of whom are seriously ill.

 

A CIRCULAR IS PUBLISHED AFTER THE CORGENERAL

 

The last patient to die in prison was former Lieutenant General Vural Avar. Avar, who was tried on May 29, 2012 in the "28 February Trial" and sentenced to life imprisonment, died on December 20 in Sincan Type F Closed Prison. Following Avar's death, Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdağ announced on January 3 that they had issued a new 8-item circular titled "Proceedings on Reduction or Removal of Punishments of Persons Due to Persistent Illness, Injury and Husband".

 

THE MINISTRY IGNORED THE DEATH OF 75 ILL PRISONERS

 

While the article in the circular stating that "the chief prosecutors' offices initiate an ex officio determination of the health conditions of the identified ill prisoners without their request" was discussed in the public, İHD Istanbul Branch Co-chair Gülseren Yoleri said that the AKP-MHP government was exposed to criticism after the death of Lieutenant General Vural Avar. She pointed out that they immediately issued a new circular in order to get rid of it. Yoleri said: “After the death of a military official, they started to discuss the circular; however, only in 2022, 75 ill prisoners lost their lives; therefore, we are unfortunately talking about the Ministry of Justice, which does not take into account the death of 75 ill prisoners.”

 

THE CIRCULAR DOES NOT POINT TO ANYTHING NEW

 

Stating that with a circular issued by the Ministry of Justice, the circular tried to create the perception that the problems of seriously ill prisoners were resolved, Yoleri said: "We had a little hope as human rights defenders after Minister Bozdağ announced the 'new circular'; however, when the circular was published, we saw that it was an updated version of the circular published in 2006. While this circular does not tell us anything new, it does not bring solutions to the problems."

 

PRISONERS DO NOT ACCEPT 'AMNESTY'

 

Noting that Article 104 of the new regulation enlarges the President's power of "amnesty", Yoleri said: "The political prisoners in prisons do not want to benefit from the President's 'amnesty'. The prisoners want to take advantage of the existing legal rights. It is not right for human rights defenders to talk about the right to treatment, which is left to the approval of the President. The right to life and health of ill prisoners cannot be left to the authority of the President." 

 

ATK HAS THE AUTHORITY TO DECIDE ABOUT ILL PRISONERS

 

Emphasizing that the circular was presented to the society in a different way, Yoleri said: “We can say that the powers of the ATK are partially limited in this circular, but in terms of the way it is reflected to the society, this circular does not have the quality of any solution for the ill prisoners as we would like. It is not an arrangement to completely remove the powers of the ATK. ATK also has the authority to decide whether the ill prisoner should be held inside or not.”