PRESS RELEASE: IHD DIYARBAKIR BRANCH
“My son Abdülaziz EKİNCİ, born in 1983, was quite normal with his physchology till he was in high school. After he was graduated from high school, his behaviours began to change; including the odd attitudes, to gallivant irresponsibly and being away from home for 2-3 days. He began to behave as if he was mad. Nearly 15 months ago during a control in the bus of Kiziltepe-Derik hashish had been captured and it was said that it had belonged to my son and he was arrested and imprisoned in Mardin Prison. But the guardions are always beating my son.
My son has the medical report which he had taken from the Diyarbakır State Hospital in 15.09.2005. In the Health Council Medical Report it is specified that my son is %45 handicapped and has Parkinson in Stage 2-3. For my son is always being beaten since he was imprisoned, he is only able to come with two guardians in his arms when I go to visit him in the prison. His face and back are bruised when I see him in my visits. In the past he was speaking with me. But right now, he can’t answer my calls and can’t speak, either. His mouth is getting foamy and he can’t go to the toilet on his own. He is living in cruel conditions in the prison. The guardians brought him into this situation. Where is State, why has the State got no mercy?! Am I not a citizen of this country? Why does nobody help my son? Why does nobody hear my voice? Why is everybody deaf?
My husband is working in the Sur Municipality as a labourer and we live in a shanty. For we are relatives with my husband, one of my daughters, who is 10 years old, is handicapped and she can’t speak. There is deficiency of bone on her back. I have 8 daughters and 3 boys. My son and my daughter are handicapped. When I go to the prison to visit my son, he is dropping from the chair. The people around are looking at us and crying, I can’t touch and help my son and I’m crying. The every day of visiting is turned into cruelty. They beaten my son a lot, he wasn’t like that before. I sent my son to the prison physically well, but I now well know that I will bring his body and take out him from the prison. I sued to the Ministry of Justice for nearly 15 or 20 times. But I got no answer. In one of my visits, my son could hardly tell the names of the two guardians, Seyithan and Şirin. He was mute and said, “They beat me”. When I heard that, I began to cry. Then I wrote requests against them, but there is no feedback. Why do nor State neither its institutions behave like this, why don’t they reply us as we are human?
I had applied to your association for his treatment. Shortly after the HRA’s written request, they began to treat my son. Then, his treatment stopped. I asked them why they hadn’t given his medicines, they said to me that they had run out of medicines, they had asked to Ankara to send new ones and still waiting for the reply. I know that my son’s dead body will come before they reply. I want the body of my son that now I believe is dead. I have no hope. I can’t trust anyone. As a desperate mother, I refuged to HRA. Please, help me!”
Upon the application of Medine EKİNCİ on 22 July 2008, requests were sent to the Ministry of Justice, the Human Rights Presidency of the Prime Ministry, the Human Rights Commission of the Turkish National Assembly, the Governorship of Mardin, and the Public Prosecutor of Mardin and to The Commission of Prisons Watch in Mardin.
Medine EKİNCİ applied to our association once again on 22 August 2008. Her son, Abdülaziz EKİNCİ had died in Adana where he was treated.
Throughout the claims, declarations, the documents that had been handed over by the applicant, it is being understood that her son was ill, he was subjected to the ill-treatment, none of the rules for handicapped and disabled people was regarded, therefore he lost his life. During the last six months we are getting very serious applications on torture and ill-treatment from the prisons. Especially in Mardin, Erzurum, Bitlis and Siirt prisons the applications about the unlimited ill-treatment of guardians against the prisoners is getting significantly increased. In fact, it is hard to understand the impassive attitudes of authority despite these applications. It seems as if the prisons are under the control of sado-masochist guardians more than being under the control of a state. Disabled citizens also have some rights given by the Act. Who will stop these savage implementations on this disabled citizen in the prison which is under the control of the State? There is no tolerance for these kinds of implementations on the political prisoners or the ones imprisoned for simple offences in a constitutional state. The family filed a complaint against Mehmet Zahir Aydın, the Chief Executioner of Mardin Prison and the officers called Seyithan TOSUN and Mehmet Şirin BAYIK who are working as guardians. On 29.07.2008 the Public Prosecutor of Mardin took the decision asserting that there is no need for prosecution. But, Abdülaziz doesn’t live anymore. He died. The ones who had beaten him are free. We think that the claim of his family wasn’t investigated enough. The prisons in our area have been examined closely and we demand that you send inspectors to examine the prisons and investigate the allegations mentioned and re-open investigations about the guardians in question. The inquirements can’t bring Abdülaziz back, but it will reduce his mother’s grief at least a bit. We want that the justice must be served.
Muharrem ERBEY
The Chairman of Branch, Lawyer