Human Rights Association (İHD) Commissions on Prisons carried out research on ill prisoners in Turkey. The Commissions prepared a list ill prisoners according to which there are 544 ill prisoners and 154 of these prisoners are seriously ill as of 3 November 2013. There were 526 (154 of them were again seriously ill) ill prisoners 2 months ago. Only a few prisoners were released for their health problems. Yet, there is a constant increase in number of ill prisoners. Furthermore, we would like to underline that there are more ill prisoners since our list is based on people whom our commissions were able to contact.
Prison regime is not humane in Turkey. However, the F Type prison regime has a structure based on isolation mentality that leads to languish of detainees and convicts. According to figures of the Ministry of Justice and the IHD, there are many prisoners who lost their lives in prisons. This high number of prisoners who lost their lives confirms gravity of the issue.
The following is the IHD’s demands for ill prisoners:
1- Legal procedure with regard to the President’s capacity of amnesty should be amended. General Directorate of Penal Affairs lists a series of steps to be taken for amnesty in its Circular No 20 dated 01.01.2006. Some of these steps are;
$1– sending the medical report, which were given by a fully equipped hospital, to be approved by the Forensic Medicine Institution,
$1– The Forensic Medicine Institution may ask an additional examination of prisoner.
This circular approves hegemony of the Forensic Medicine Institution and as a result leads to serious problems. Despite high number of ill prisoners, there is a limited number of release. This fact shows that legal procedure is against prisoner. The Forensic Medicine Institution should be removed from the process and medical report given by a fully equipped hospital must be satisfactory.
2- The Article 16/3 of The Law on The Execution of Penalties and Security Measures No 5275 is about approval of the medical report by the Forensic Medicine Institution and this provision must be repealed. In practice, the Forensic Medicine Institution invites the prisoner in question to approve the medical report given by the fully equipped hospital. This process-going to Istanbul for another examination, is punishment. The Forensic Medicine Institution usually does not approve these reports given by fully equipped hospital. Thus, this provision must be repealed or at least amended to stop hegemony of the Forensic Medicine Institution.
3- The Forensic Medicine Institution resists the amendment to the Article 16 of The Law on The Execution of Penalties and Security Measures No 5275 that came into force in last January. According to the amendment imminent danger to life criterion was replaced with not being able to continue his/her life alone. However, this amendment provides a wide authority to Public Prosecutors to cancel release of ill prisoners who can be considered as dangerous to security of the society. In this regard, Mr. Ramazan Özalp-a prisoner from the Mardin Prison-was not released based on this provision though the Forensic Medicine Institution gave a report in favour of him. This criterion of the law leads postponement of release of ill prisoners. Similarly, another prisoner Mr. Salih Tuğrul has been waiting response from the Gendarmerie for two weeks though the Forensic Medicine Institution gave a report in favour of him. This criterion must be definitely repealed.
4- The period was prolonged from 3,5 years to 7 years in the Article 17 of The Law on The Execution of Penalties and Security Measures No 5275 and it will expand public prosecutors authorities and also scope of postponement of release in this regard.
5- Expert position of the Forensic Medicine Institution should be repealed. The hegemony of the Forensic Medicine Institution, which is under total influence of the political power and acts without paying attention to scientific criteria, should be ended and Forensic Departments at universities or Training and Research Hospitals of the Ministry of Health can be appointed as expert institutions and regulations should be made in this regard. Our finding and recommendation to the Forensic Medicine Institution were put forward also by Mr. Christof Heyn, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions under the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations Human Rights, in the Turkey Report dated 18 March 2013.
6- Bi-party and tri-party protocols between Ministries of Justice, Interior Affairs and Health are not in consistent with the Article 71 of the Execution Law and international rules and ethical principles. It should be underlined that these protocols do not solve health problems of the prisoners yet lead to new problems (e.g. handcuffed examination at hospitals). The Ministry of Justice should immeditaly meet health requirements by recruiting qualified personnel (expert doctors) by establishing clinics and hospitals in prisons.
7- Especially isolation conditions in F Type prisons trigger illnesses and quick spread of illnesses. Isolation conditions are used in a sense as a policy of languish. Therefore, isolation regime must be stopped in prisons.
8- Physical and psychological integrity of prisoners must be protected. In this regard, food, exercise and yard conditions, facilities and standards should be improved and hygiene must be accomplished.
9- Provisions for heavier penalties (as a result of category of political and criminal prisoners) for political prisoners in the Law No 5275 must be repealed. The Law as a whole must meet requirements of the UN rules of Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment.
10- The National Preventive Mechanism, which should be established in 1 year according to the Convention Against Torture ratified by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in the previous legislation term, should be composed of civil society and non-governmental organisations. Effective monitoring and control of prisons should be accomplished by such profile of the preventive mechanism.
11- The Ministry of Justice must immediately conduct health control of all prisoners in all Turkey and must keep their data till health conditions of the prisons are improved.
The Ministry of Justice must immediately take necessary measures for ill prisoners, must release ill prisoners both identified in our list and others before too long, and must provide medical facilities and conditions to treat ill prisoners.
We, as the İHD activists, will continue to carry out activities for ill prisoners in the future. In this regard, we will contact political parties in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to accomplish immediate release of ill prisoners. We remind once again that there are people languish in prisons and ask the public opinion to become sensitive about this issue.
HUMAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION (İHD