Hatice Onaran, a disabled human rights defender undergoing cancer treatment, was sent back to prison twice after being hospitalized on two consecutive days, despite repeated calls to suspend her sentence, the pro-Kurdish Pir News Agency (PİRHA) reported.
Onaran, 60, was taken to Fatih Hospital in Kocaeli province on Sunday and then again Monday before being sent back to the Gebze Closed Prison for women on both occasions. Her lawyers’ requests to suspend her sentence due to life-threatening health conditions were rejected.
Onaran has been officially assessed as 79 percent disabled under Turkey’s medical disability classification, indicating a severe loss of bodily function. She began serving her sentence while undergoing treatment for colon cancer, and recent medical tests have also detected new nodules.
A member of the Human Rights Association’s (İHD) İstanbul branch and its prison commission, Onaran was sentenced to more than four years in prison for “financing terrorism” by İstanbul’s 13th High Criminal Court, a verdict later upheld on appeal. She has been in prison since October 10, 2024.
Onaran, who has long advocated for prisoners’ rights and access to medical care for seriously ill inmates, was prosecuted for sending small amounts of money to poor and sick prisoners. Her lawyers said the funds transfers were made in line with prison regulations and should not be considered “financing terrorism.”
Under Turkey’s Law on the Execution of Sentences and Security Measures, courts may suspend the sentence of a prisoner who, due to a serious illness or disability, cannot sustain life in prison conditions and who is not considered a serious or concrete danger to society. Rights groups say the provision is very rarely applied in practice.
The İHD says more than 1,400 sick prisoners are currently held in Turkey, including hundreds in critical condition. The group has repeatedly reported delays in trips to the hospital, inadequate treatment in prison infirmaries and forensic assessments that allow seriously ill detainees to remain incarcerated.
