Cemal Altıparmakoğlu, a 48-year-old primary school teacher dismissed under a government decree, died on November 29 after a delayed release from prison despite his doctor’s warnings.
According to the Kronos news website, Altıparmakoğlu, a teacher for 17 years, was dismissed as part of Turkey’s post-2016 crackdown on alleged ties to the faith-based Gülen movement, inspired by the late Muslim cleric Fetullah Gülen. He was later imprisoned despite a 67 percent disability report citing severe health conditions.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the movement since corruption investigations revealed in 2013 implicated then-Prime Minister Erdoğan as well as some of his family members and his inner circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement a terrorist organization and began targeting 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 have strongly denied involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
On September 10, 2018, Altıparmakoğlu sent a petition to the Düzce 2nd High Criminal Court, detailing his ordeal. “Despite a 67 percent disability report documenting severe disease, which is evidence of my frequent illness and dependency on care in prison conditions, and my last doctor’s evaluation highlighting my risk of developing cancer, the continuation of my detention effectively means being left to die in prison,” he said.
His pleas went unheeded. He was not released until last year, by which time he had developed cancer.
Reports suggest Altıparmakoğlu faced worsening conditions while imprisoned at Düzce T-Type Prison, battling Crohn’s disease and mobility challenges due to hip replacements. He frequently required hospital care but continued to endure rights violations, including restricted family visitations.
Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, a prominent human rights defender and MP from the pro-Kurdish People’s Equality and Democracy Party, announced the news on the social media platform X. “This 17-year teacher endured every kind of suffering,” Gergerlioğlu said. “He lost his job, went to prison, developed cancer and he was finally free from their hold.”
Sick inmates face a number of difficulties, such as overcrowded wards, lack of heat, delayed admission to the infirmary, an insufficient number of doctors, delayed referrals to the hospital and a lack of nutritious food, clean water and adequate exercise.
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 or concrete danger to society may be suspended until they recover. However, the decision to suspend sentences is not implemented for many political prisoners.
Following the abortive putsch, the Turkish government declared a state of emergency and carried out a massive purge of state institutions under the pretext of an anti-coup fight. Over 130,000 public servants, including 4,156 judges and prosecutors, as well as over 24,000 members of the armed forces, were summarily removed from their jobs for alleged membership in or relationships with “terrorist organizations” by emergency decree-laws subject to neither judicial nor parliamentary scrutiny.
