İsmet Aslan, a Turkish labor union official battling a rare form of skin cancer, has been denied access to his prescribed medication in prison, the Mezopotamya news agency reported.
İsmet Aslan, who is currently incarcerated in an İstanbul prison, suffers from mycosis fungoides, a type of cancer in which white blood cells become cancerous. It affects the skin and can spread to other organs and requires regular treatment. Though his medications are available at the prison’s contracted pharmacy, authorities have withheld them, citing “security concerns,” according to his legal team.
Aslan’s illness has reportedly progressed during his incarceration, with reports indicating that his skin is peeling and his overall health is rapidly declining.
“Prisoners’ rights are being disregarded through increasing instances of torture, physical and verbal abuse, ill-treatment and denial of healthcare in prisons,” Simge Yardım, a central executive board member of Turkey’s Education and Science Workers’ Union said on the social media platform X. “The arbitrary withholding of medicine for our friend, who was unlawfully arrested, is unacceptable and an outright crime.”
Aslan, a member of the Public Employees Unions Confederation (KESK), was detained during a home raid on Oct. 7, 2024, and later imprisoned based on testimony from a “secret witness.” The public prosecutor imposed a decision of confidentiality on the case file, and as a result, there is no detailed information about the accusation that was the basis for his incarceration or the alleged “security concern.”
Previously, KESK launched an international campaign for his release, gathering over 4,000 signatures and sending protest letters to Turkey’s presidency and Ministry of Justice.
Turkish authorities have been frequently criticized for their systematic disregard of the health needs of prisoners.
Every year, rights groups report the deaths of dozens of sick prisoners, either while behind bars or shortly after their release, which often comes at the end-stage of their illness.
Turkey recorded 709 deaths in prison in the first 11 months of 2024, according to data from the Ministry of Justice shared in response to a parliamentary inquiry.
Human rights advocates have blamed systemic failures for the high death toll. “Deaths continue to rise due to rights violations, including limited hospital access, an inadequate number of prison transport vehicles and other systemic failures,” said Ömer Faruk Yazmacı, co-chair of the Ankara branch of the Human Rights Association. “These conditions are proof that people are effectively being killed by negligence in prisons.”
