Mustafa Aytaç, an inmate battling cancer, has been returned to prison despite a recommendation from Turkey’s Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK) that his sentence be suspended for six months due to his deteriorating health, the Kronos news website reported on Wednesday.
On July 24 Aytaç experienced a severe deterioration in his health and was hospitalized for 10 days, during which time he underwent chemotherapy.
Aytaç was handcuffed during treatment and is expected to return to the hospital next week for a second round of chemotherapy.
Diagnosed with cancer in March, Aytaç remained incarcerated despite a medical report from the ATK indicating a high probability of death if he is not provided with appropriate care. The report emphasized the importance of him living in a “clean, hygienic and uncrowded environment” during his treatment as well as the need for caregiver support.
His family has previously expressed concern about his weakened condition, particularly the risk of infection due to a lowered blood count. He reportedly needs an urgent stem cell transplant to survive.
Aytaç was sentenced to over seven years in prison in 2022 for his alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement.
He was accused of helping families of individuals dismissed from their jobs by an emergency decree following a coup attempt on July 15, 2016, as well as organizing religious gatherings with members of the movement.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement, inspired by Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, since the corruption investigations of 2013, which implicated then-prime minister Erdoğan, his family members and his inner circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began to target its members. He intensified the crackdown on the movement following the abortive putsch that he accused Gülen of masterminding. Gülen and the movement strongly deny involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
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.
