The family of Osman Çağlar, an ailing inmate whose health is deteriorating while in prison, has called on Turkish authorities to release him for medical reasons, the Artı Gerçek news website reported on Thursday.
Çağlar suffers from a heart condition that didn’t exist before he was incarcerated according to his mother Hatice. “My son is not receiving any medical treatment despite his health issues,” she said.
Çağlar was arrested on terrorism-related charges in 2010 following a bombing in Cizre that killed his cousin. On the day of the explosion he was in Cizre and was detained when he went to the scene.
“We searched for him for days, unaware that he was in custody,” his mother said. “Later, we learned he was being tortured. He was unrecognizable, with one eye covered in blood and a swollen head.”
Çağlar was put in solitary confinement in 2022 at Patnos Prison in Ağrı.
The prison reportedly lacks clean drinking water and proper facilities for showering.
Turkey’s prison system is notorious for its poor conditions, particularly for ill inmates and the issue of overcrowding. Every year rights groups report the death of dozens of sick prisoners, either while behind bars or shortly after their belated release, which often comes at the end-stage of their illnesses.
Turkish authorities have been frequently criticized for their systematic disregard of the health problems of political prisoners.
In recent years, many inmates have died of their illnesses either behind bars or shortly after their belated release.
According to the Human Rights Association (İHD), there were 1,517 sick inmates in Turkish detention facilities as of December 2022, 651 of whom were critically ill.
