Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) lawmaker Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu in video post circulated on social media called on the Turkish Ministry of Family Affairs to protect the rights of sick prisoners, saying the Ministry of Justice was not doing enough.
“Sick prisoners need critical attention,” he said. “Yet the Ministry of Justice seems totally incompetent at protecting them and ensuring they have access to proper healthcare.”
He drew attention to the situation of İbrahim Güngör, a 72-year-old Alzheimer’s patient who was imprisoned in December to serve a sentence on conviction of alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement.
“Güngör has several serious diseases, including. Alzheimer’s and prostate cancer,” Gergerlioğlu said. “He doesn’t even recognize his own daughter and is in great distress in prison. The Ministry of Family Affairs needs to step in and work with the Ministry of Justice to ensure Güngör — and inmates like him — are well taken care of in prison and if necessary, released on medical grounds.”
Güngör, sentenced to over eight years, was arrested on December 14, 2024 and sent to prison in İzmir after Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals upheld his conviction.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement, inspired by the late Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, since corruption investigations revealed in 2013 implicated then-prime minister Erdoğan and some members of his family and inner circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement a terrorist organization and began pursuing its members. He intensified the crackdown on the movement following a failed coup in 2016, which he accused Gülen of masterminding. Gülen and the movement strongly deny involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
During a recent visit Güngör failed to recognize his 24-year-old daughter, Sueda, who described her father as disoriented and physically frail. The family has appealed to the authorities for his immediate release, as is provided for by law.
According to Law No. 5275, the sentence of a prisoner who due to a serious illness or disability is unable to manage life on their own under prison conditions and who is not considered a serious danger to society may be suspended until they recover. However, the stipulated suspension of sentence is often not implemented.
Güngör’s Alzheimer’s had worsened significantly within a month of imprisonment. He no longer recognized his family members and spoke of events that had never occurred.
According to family members, Güngör is being held in a one-person cell, which has compounded his condition. He also told his family that there weren’t regular checks on his well-being.
The family has filed for a postponement of his sentence based on his health, but no decision has yet been made. Sueda said her father’s imprisonment has been devastating for their family. “We’re watching him waste away in a place where he doesn’t belong. He’s a kind, gentle man who loved helping students. This isn’t justice.”
Turkish authorities have frequently been criticized for their systematic disregard of the health needs of prisoners. Every year rights groups report the deaths of dozens of sick prisoners, either while behind bars or shortly after their release, which often comes at the end-stage of their illness. Turkey recorded 709 deaths in prison in the first 11 months of 2024, according to data from the Ministry of Justice shared in response to a parliamentary inquiry.
