Sinan Tutmaz, who was seriously injured in the explosion that took place on November 28, 2011 in the Akdeniz district of Mersin, was arrested and sent to prison after he was discharged from the hospital where he was taken. Tutmaz, who lost his left hand in the explosion, suffered facial paralysis and ruptured his eardrum, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of "membership in a terrorist organization". Lastly, the patient detained in Düzce T Type Prison, Tutmaz, stated that he was put in a solitary cell.

 

HEALTH PROBLEMS OF TUTMAZ

 

Stating that his son lost his hand as a result of an explosion in his hand while he was picking up an object that fell in front of him during a wedding in Mersin in 2011, and that his body was damaged by the impact of the explosion,  Tutmaz's father, Edim Tutmaz said: "My son was arrested on charges of "being a member of a terrorist organization" after the incident. My son Sinan neither harmed nor killed anyone, but he was sentenced to 25 years. An eardrum ruptured while his hand was severed from the exploding object. He had facial paralysis. His hypertension started. His eyes were damaged. Despite all this, they were exiled many times during the prison period. They were exiled from Mersin to Silifke, from there to Iskenderun, and finally to Düzce.”

 

SYSTEMATIC VIOLATIONS OF RIGHTS

 

Noting that they applied to the Human Rights Association (İHD) after his son's health problems increased, Tutmaz said: "Despite all objections, the Forensic Medicine Institute (ATK) remained indifferent. My son and other prisoners have been subjected to systematic violations of rights in prison. There is no right and justice in the prison administration. It cuts off our children's electricity and water. They use violence and persecute. They put them in military line and impose a standing count in a single line. He forbids meeting face-to-face and over the phone. Our children go on hunger strike against these practices. This time, they are sentenced to solitary confinement for going on a hunger strike because they don't want the cells to be empty. Despite all his ailments, they put my son Sinan in a solitary cell."

 

DOUBLE STANDARD TO ORDINARY PRISONERS

 

Condemning the fact that his son was put in a solitary cell despite his health problems, Tutmaz said: "They are trying to attract political prisoners in prisons to their side by imposing remorse with these pressures. Our children, on the other hand, say that they do not regret that they think there is nothing they did wrong, and that they only demand their rights because they are Kurds. For example, they issue amnesty for those sentenced to Hezbollah or the February 28 period. They do not, nor will they, leave a single person among our political prisoners.  The only thing our children want is peace and justice." 

 

Noting that putting his son in a solitary cell despite all his health problems is a violation of human rights, Tutmaz said: "Stop doing these injustices to our people and our political prisoners. Can one's conscience accept that a patient who does not have a hand, an ear or an eye is put in a solitary cell?"

 

MA / İbrahim Irmak