İZMİR - HRFT Secretary General Coşkun Usterci stated that the prevention of seriously ill detainees' right to health causes physical and mental problems and said, "The efforts of the families are a cry for the prisoners to live."

Every day, new violations of rights in prisons are added. According to the data of the Human Rights Association (İHD), there are 1,605 sick prisoners, 604 of whom are seriously ill. In the last two years, 59 detainees whose evacuation and treatment were prevented have lost their lives. According to the latest data of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV); 562 people who were released from prison in 2020 applied to the foundation due to the violations of their rights. 144 of the applicants stated that they were subjected to ill-treatment and torture in prison.

One of the institutions visited by the relatives of the detainees was the HRFT, which receives many applications every year from those released from prison and from the relatives of the detainees. HRFT Secretary General Coşkun Üsterci referred to the application of the relatives of the detainees and said that justice should be provided for the detainees immediately. Emphasizing that sick prisoners, whose health conditions are getting worse day by day, should be released for treatment, Üsterci drew attention to the fact that hundreds of detainees are left to die in prisons.

VIOLATIONS OF RIGHTS

 Üsterci listed the complaints of those who applied to the foundation after their release as follows: “Insulting, humiliation, rough beatings, threats, forcing obedience to meaningless demands, profanity with a sexual content, visual and auditory testimonies of torture, naked search, tight handcuffs or reverse handcuffs. Regarding prison conditions; Prevention of access to health, restriction of eating and drinking, failure to provide hygienic conditions, restriction of social rights, restriction of the right to air conditioning and sports, restriction of the right to chat, prohibition of letters, prohibition of viewing, denial of access to printed publications.”

THE RIGHT TO HEALTH

 Stating that he could not benefit from the right to health because he did not accept the imposition of handcuffed examinations in prisons, Üsterci said, “Even if the detainees are taken to the hospital, they are brought back to the prison without examination or treatment. There are delays in diagnosis and treatment. There are serious barriers to accessing healthcare personnel. Hospital transfers of prisoners are delayed. Emergency patients are not referred to the hospital until their condition worsens. In some prisons, the drugs that sick prisoners should take regularly are not given on time.”

Mentioning that HRFT has been fighting for a society and the world without torture for many years, Üsterci said, "We will continue to work and struggle with the same determination for prisons without torture, for Turkey and the world without torture."