The family of Dilek Dağlı, an inmate whose health is quickly deteriorating in prison, has called on Turkish authorities to release her for medical reasons, Bold Medya reported on Monday.
Dağlı, 57, suffers from liver problems, nerve issues, high blood pressure and hearing loss according to family accounts. The family alleged Dağlı’s worsening condition is due to delayed and inadequate medical care.
“She has missed several medical appointments due to delayed transport by the prison authorities,” a family member said. “Her hearing aid was provided late and without proper fitting, which worsened her hearing loss.”
Dağlı’s health challenges have severely impacted her daily life. Nerve compression in her hands has left her unable to perform basic tasks, such as folding laundry, forcing her cellmates to assist her. The physical toll has also affected her mental health, and she is now reliant on antidepressants.
“Her hands are so swollen that her cellmates do her laundry,” the family member said. “The meniscus damage in her knees prevents her from climbing stairs, and she struggles to walk. Despite months on antidepressants, her mental health has significantly deteriorated.”
Dağlı was arrested and imprisoned over alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement two-and-a-half years ago. She is serving an eight-year prison sentence for membership in a terrorist organization based on witness testimony. Her case is currently under review by Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the movement, inspired by the late Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, since corruption investigations revealed in 2013 implicated then-prime minister Erdoğan as well as some of his family members and inner circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement as 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.
Dağlı’s family has called for her release to allow her proper medical treatment or, at a minimum, her transfer to Antalya Prison, where she could be closer to her family and her incarcerated sibling.
“Her entire family lives in Antalya. Visits would lift her morale and ease her loneliness,” a family member said. However, requests for transfer have been repeatedly denied, they added.
“Her release would allow her to access consistent treatment and improve her quality of life. Being closer to her family would provide some relief,” the relative said.
Under Turkish Law No. 5275, prisoners suffering from severe illness or disabilities that prevent them from living independently under prison conditions can have their sentences suspended, provided they are not deemed a danger to society. However, human rights organizations have long criticized the selective application of the law, particularly for political prisoners.
Every year human rights NGOs report the death of dozens of sick prisoners either behind bars or shortly after their belated release, which typically comes at an advanced stage of their illness.
