Aysu Bayram, 46, a Turkish woman who suffers from Parkinson’s disease and also requires regular care for a liver transplant, said she has been denied critical medical attention during her incarceration in an Istanbul prison, the Kronos news website reported.
In a September court appearance, Bayram explained that she had undergone a liver transplant in 2022 and needs consistent follow-up care, but none of her requests for hospital visits or necessary medical tests and attention have been granted in prison. Bayram also said that she struggled to manage her Parkinson’s symptoms while imprisoned.
Bayram detailed her ordeal, explaining that her health has deteriorated due to the lack of medical care provided during her incarceration. She explained that there was a significant risk she could lose her new liver if she remained in prison under these conditions. Bayram has now been held in prison pending trial for more than six months.
Bayram’s testimony was part of the initial hearing held September 23-27 at the Istanbul 24th High Criminal Court in the controversial “High School Girls Case.”
Bayram was detained as part of the now-infamous case. The indictments of several young girls cited routine activities such as attending study groups, going to the movies, using food delivery services and praying together as evidence of terrorist involvement. The trial has attracted significant criticism for its treatment of minors and the broad application of anti-terrorism laws.
The case is linked to a May 7 police operation targeting 41 individuals, including 14 high school students aged 13 to 17 who were detained on accusations of terrorism due to their alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement, inspired by late Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, since the corruption investigations of December 17-25, 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 an abortive putsch that he accused Gülen of masterminding. Gülen and the movement strongly deny involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
Bayram’s two teenage daughters, aged 16 and 17, were among the teenagers that were detained, but because she was detained before her daughters, she had no idea that they had also been detained. Bayram only found out when they were brought to the same detention center in Istanbul.
She described their conditions in a juvenile detention facility as “harsh and degrading,” alleging they were denied access to basic facilities, including restrooms.
“The police would shout, ‘If I open the door at 3 a.m., you go then. If it’s 5 a.m., you wait,’” she said. “When I saw her [the eldest daughter] at the police station, she was trembling,” Bayram said, adding that both daughters spent four days in detention under difficult conditions.
The denial of medical care and humane conditions to inmates and detainees in Turkey has become a recurring issue, drawing criticism from human rights organizations. Chronic overcrowding, inadequate resources and poor infrastructure in prisons exacerbate the problem, leaving inmates — particularly those with severe illnesses — without access to critical treatment. Despite international standards requiring proper healthcare for prisoners, systemic neglect remains pervasive in Turkey’s penal system.
