Eight Turkish human rights groups on Wednesday called for the immediate release of a critically ill 70-year-old prisoner, warning that Turkey’s refusal to suspend his sentence despite severe health problems puts his life at risk.
The groups, led by the Lawyers for Freedom Association (ÖHD), said Mehmet Edip Taşar’s continued imprisonment despite his worsening medical condition amounted to systematic ill-treatment and urged authorities to suspend his sentence on humanitarian grounds.
Taşar underwent his 19th angioplasty on February 12 after his condition deteriorated sharply. He suffers from heart failure as well as several chronic illnesses, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and diabetes.
Following the operation Taşar again applied to the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in İstanbul, seeking the suspension of his sentence on grounds of health.
The rights groups urged authorities to suspend his sentence in line with the Nelson Mandela Rules — the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners — and the guidelines of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), an independent Council of Europe body that monitors detention conditions across member states.
According to his family Taşar is no longer able to eat or take his medication on his own and depends on fellow inmates for basic daily care. During their most recent visits, the family members described him as barely recognizable, severely weakened and struggling even to breathe.
Taşar has been referred three times to Turkey’s Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK) since he was imprisoned on December 27, 2022. Each time, the agency found him fit to remain in prison.
The ATK frequently comes under criticism over its questionable reports that find ailing inmates fit to remain in prison. Rights advocates slam the agency over its lack of independence from political influence and its role in compounding the persecution of political prisoners.
Taşar was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison along with eight others in connection with a bombing attack carried out in İstanbul on December 10, 2016. The attack was claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), an urban armed group generally regarded as affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
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.
