Derya Ren 

 

MERSİN - Zübeyde İnci, who pointed out that the situation of the sick prisoners in the prison is getting worse day by day, said that her son is one of these prisoners and he was not released despite the report that he ‘’cannot stay in prison’’. Zübeyde expressed her concern and said: ‘’My son is schizophrene. The state wants my son to harm his friends.’’ 

 

While the situation of sick prisoners in prisons in Turkey and the region continues to worsen day by day, a sick prisoner dies almost every month. According to the data released by the Ministry of Justice on 31 July, there are a total of 282716 detainees or convicts in 360 prisons, of which 11271 are women and 1600 are children.

 

According to the 2020 ‘’Prisons Report’’ of the Human Rights Association (IHD), there are 1605 sick prisoners, 604 of whom are seriously ill, in prisons in Turkey and the region. One of the sick prisoners is Özgür Azad İnci, who has been exiled to seven different prisons for 23 years. Özgür, who is currently held in Osmaniye T Type Closed Prison, is not released despite the report that ‘’he cannot stay in prison’’.

 

Özgür's mother, Zübeyde İnci, underlined that the prisoners, especially the sick prisoners, should be released immediately.

 

‘Diagnosed with schizophrene’

 

Zübeyde said that Özgür was detained in 1999, he was tortured during this process, and was later arrested and put in Diyarbakır D-Type Prison, and continued: ‘’A few years after my son was arrested, he was diagnosed with schizophrene. My son cannot stay in prison alone. We have applied to many organizations regarding this. Upon our applications, they took him to a hospital in Diyarbakır. He received a report that he cannot stay in prison. However, he was still not released. Then the same report was given from the Elazığ Mental Health Center. The reports were sent to the Forensic Medicine Institute (ATK). However, ATK gave a report of ‘He can stay in prison’ despite the reports of the hospitals.’’

 

‘My son tried to burn himself twice’

 

Noting that Özgür gets better when he uses medication for the treatment of schizophrenia, and worsens when he does not use it, Zübeyde said: ‘’Because of this, his friends do not leave him alone. On the other hand, he tried to burn himself twice during his stay in Siirt Prison.’’ Zübeyde stated that her son could not meet his needs alone, and that she lived with the fear that he could harm himself if other prisoners were not present.

 

‘The state wants my son to hurt his friends’

 

Zübeyde stated that Özgür has been using medicines for 15 years and due to this he continued his life. Zübeyde said: ‘’When the medicine is not given, he attacks around. That is why we are worried. We wonder if the medicine was given or not. The government wants my son to hurt his friends. In the past years, my son was not given medication. My son was banging his head against the wall, kicking doors. We were very afraid that he would hurt his friends. Yes, medicines are given now, but my son cannot stay in prison. Although we have repeatedly expressed this, the authorities have not taken any steps in this regard.’’

 

‘Sick prisoners should be released’

 

Finally, she emphasized that the condition of all sick prisoners in prison is not good, and that the Ministry of Justice should take action as soon as possible. Zübeyde said: ‘’Sick prisoners in prisons should be released immediately. How can someone with schizophrenia stay in prison? What harm can sick prisoners do to the state? All the prisoners are my children. Let the sick prisoners spend time with their families.’’