DİYARBAKIR - DFG Co-Chair Serdar Altan pointed out that the situation of three of the imprisoned journalists is serious and called for them to be released so that their treatment can be carried out in a healthy environment.

 

According to the data of the Human Rights Association (İHD), there are 1,605 ill prisoners, 605 of whom are seriously ill. According to the data of Marmara Association for Solidarity with Prisoners and Their Families, 68 of the prisoners in question are seriously ill. According to the data announced by the Republican People's Party's (CHP) Gülizar Biçer on December 28, 2021, 100 ill prisoners, who were not released despite their illnesses, lost their lives and 91 prisoners were driven to suicide due to the severe conditions in the prison in the last 5 years. According to the data shared by the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) on February 21, the number of ill prisoners who lost their lives in the last 5 years is 89. While the announced reports reveal the situation in prisons, new deaths are added every day. Following the aforementioned reports, 8 prisoner got of prisons in coffins.

 

 

Data on deaths and ill prisoners in prisons stem from the government's refusal to share any data. Instead of the reports received from full-fledged hospitals, the government bases its reports on ill prisoners on the reports of the Forensic Medicine Institute (ATK), whose impartiality and scientificity are viewed with suspicion by independent medical circles.

 

IMPRISONED ILL JOURNALISTS

 

The government maintains its stance on ill prisoners on the agenda of imprisoned journalists. Government officials, in every statement, claim that there is no journalist in prison, and declare imprisoned journalists "members of an terrorist organization". However, the data released by journalist organizations refutes the government. According to the data of the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG), there are 63 imprisoned journalists in prisons. Three of these journalists are ill.

 

DEVRIM AYIK

 

One of the journalists that the DFG named among the ill imprisoned journalists is Devrim Ayık, an employee of Özgür Halk magazine. Ayık, who is on the İHD's list of 38 people "who need to be released urgently", has colon cancer. Ayık has a disability report of 70 percent, he has 100% vision loss in one eye, and he has 30 percent vision loss in the other eye.

 

Seriously ill prisoner Ayık, who was arrested in 2015 on the charge of "being a member of a terrorist organization" and is still held in Eskişehir Type H Prison, was released pending trial in October 2019 for treatment due to his progressing illness. Ayık was arrested again on December 4, 2019, while his treatment continued. He was released again on March 17, 2020, due to the progression of his illness. However, before his treatment was completed, he was arrested in January 2021 and once again put in Eskişehir Type H Prison.

 

A verdict has not yet been established about Ayık, whose disease progresses day by day. Ayık will appear before the judge once again on April 8 at the Izmir 2nd High Criminal Court.

 

FERHAT ÇİFTÇİ

 

Ferhat Çiftçi, Antep representative of the Kurdish-language newspaper Azadiya Welat, which was shut down by a Decree-Law, is another ill prisoner journalist. Çiftçi was arrested on February 16, 2011 on charges of "being a member of a terrorist organization" and "making propaganda for a terrorist organization". Çiftçi was sentenced to 19 years and 8 months by the Adana 6th High Criminal Court. Çiftçi, who was exiled to various prisons, is currently held in Tekirdağ Type F Prison. Çiftçi, whose disease could not be diagnosed for a long time, is unable to meet his own needs until the diagnosis and treatment process starts.

 

Çiftçi, who was diagnosed with Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP), which was diagnosed in the range of 1 to 8 people in 100 thousand, which the famous physicist Stephen Hawking suffered from, gave a positive response to the treatment applied at first. Çiftçi, who is not in a position to meet his needs on his own, started to worsen again after his treatment was left unfinished due to the coronavirus pandemic. Çiftçi, who is on the ill prisoners list of the İHD, has been in prison for 10 years. Çiftçi has 3 years and 7 months for his conditional release.

 

In the letter he sent to the DFG on February 20, Çiftçi conveyed his latest situation regarding his illness, “Of course, diseases are more challenging under prison conditions. Coronavirus has made conditions even more difficult. It further limited the limited state of the already existing treatment possibilities. I go for a checkup every three months. But we do not have the opportunity to reach our main doctor whenever we want or need. Although there were improvements in the first months, there was a regression in my condition in the last month. I have another checkup soon. Let's see what will come out." 

 

Ziya Ataman

 

Another ill imprisoned journalist is Ziya Ataman. Ataman, who was arrested on April 11, 2016, on charges of "leaking state information to other places" and "arresting someone who fled from the terrorist organization and taking him to the terrorist organization" while he was a trainee reporter for the Dicle News Agency (DİHA), which was closed by a law decree, was tried on the statements of his relative Kadir Ataman. An indictment was prepared against Ataman on charges of participating in the PKK's action against Beytüşşebap and attempting to kill the Beytüşşebap District Governor Kadir Güntepe, who was arrested for FETO membership.

 

Although his relative Kadir Ataman said that he made statements under torture and threats during the investigation and court phase, Ataman was sentenced to 14 years and 3 months in prison for "being a member of a terrorist organization" in the hearing held at the Şırnak 1st High Criminal Court on October 24. The appeal process of Ataman, who is in Van High Security Prison, continues.

 

Ataman's curable illness, which started while he was not in custody, got out of control in prison. Ataman, whose intestines went bankrupt, started the disease more severely when he caught the coronavirus while in prison. Ataman shared information about his own health in a letter, Internal Medicine Specialist Dr. Cornelia Rohr made the following determination: “The symptoms that Ziya expressed in the letter he sent me pose a life-threatening risk. For this reason, it is imperative that Ziya be released immediately and treated in a hygienic environment. Otherwise, holding many prisoners such as Ziya and like Ziya in prison means the spread of the disease in this area. This increases the risk of other prisoners contracting the virus.”

 

THE CONDITION OF THE PRISONERS IS A BLEEDING WOUND

 

Evaluating the situation of ill journalists, DFG Co-Chair Serdar Altan said that prisons have become "a bleeding wound", “Of course, one of the most gangrenous problems among these is the issue of ill prisoners.” Pointing to the reports prepared on the ill prisoners, Altan said, "They need to be released as soon as possible considering their condition. However, new deathes are coming out of the prisons almost every day. There are journalists among these ill prisoners. As far as our reports show, there are around 63 imprisoned journalists among them. We have 3 friends that we can call seriously ill." 

 

'THEY SHOULD BE RELEASED'

 

Noting that other imprisoned journalists also have some illnesses, Altan said: "A serious policy is being carried out over seriously ill prisoners, which has become the main problem of the country. They are almost left to die. Our journalist friends suffer from this situation and  A serious trauma situation came out due the condition. This trauma has an impact on both themselves, their families and society. This is not an acceptable situation. All journalists should be released. But these friends, whose conditions are serious and their illnesses have progressed, should be released as soon as possible. They must be released so that their treatment can be carried out in a healthy environment and they are not deprived of their liberty any longer."