According to a study published on April 28 by the Human Rights Association (İHD), Turkish prison officials are holding at least 1,412 ill convicts, 335 of them are in critical condition. The findings, which were presented at the İHD’s Diyarbakir (Amed) office, demand the immediate release of these inmates so they may receive the necessary medical attention and highlight the terrible health conditions in the nation’s prisons.
The report was created by the Central Prisons Commission of the İHD using information from prison visits, prisoner letters, family petitions, and lawyer-client consultations. It tracked everything from physical infirmities and mental health concerns to heart illness and cancer. There are 1,251 men and 161 women among the 1,412 ailing inmates. Among the 335 seriously ill, 230 are unable to live on their own, 105 need help, and 188 require round-the-clock medical care. According to the study, 21 prisoners are awaiting treatment, while 38 convicts require surgery.
The study is a direct result of the İHD’s two-day workshop on systematic human rights breaches in Turkish prisons, which ended on April 27 in Diyarbakır.
According to İHD Co-Chair Hüseyin Küçükbalaban, the report’s conclusions are crucial because the Justice Ministry seldom ever publishes inmate health statistics. “The worst human rights violations in this country happen in prisons,” he added, calling the statistics the “tip of the iceberg.” Referencing a recent peace appeal by Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), he linked the matter to larger appeals for a resolution to Turkey’s Kurdish problems.
Küçükbalaban emphasized that the Turkish government has not yet provided a concrete reaction to Öcalan’s disarmament appeal on February 27 and the ensuing unilateral ceasefire held by the PKK. By releasing sick inmates and redressing historical wrongs, including rural evacuations and unsolved executions during the decades-long battle between the Turkish state and the PKK, he asked the state to demonstrate kindness. He continued by saying, “The state must take steps to build confidence, such as stopping operations and guaranteeing the right to life.”
The paper detailed the structural difficulties that exacerbate the health challenges of inmates. Inmates with long-term illnesses like epilepsy or asthma are in danger during hospital transfers, which sometimes entail claustrophobic, unsanitary vehicles. The İHD claims that shackled medical exams of prisoners violate human dignity and doctor-patient confidentiality. Because of intrusive searches, such as security personnel’s examinations of their mouth cavities, some prisoners decline medical visits. Conditions are made worse by overcrowded quarters, poor heating, and restricted access to clean water.
The report’s recommendations were delivered by İHD officials Nuray Çevirmen and Yusuf Erdoğan, who urged adherence to international norms such as the UN’s Mandela Rules. They demanded better hospital transfer conditions, a halt to shackled inspections, and the rapid release of severely ill inmates. The study also suggested that findings from adequately equipped hospitals be considered in place of the Forensic Medicine Institute’s exclusive ability to postpone sentencing for medical grounds.
The İHD’s conclusions coincide with continuing talks on legal measures to handle the Kurdish problem between the Justice Ministry and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party. Küçükbalaban said he hoped the findings would help officials prioritize the release of ailing inmates.
