The Turkish Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK) for the third time has issued a report saying an 87-year-old bedridden inmate is healthy enough to remain in prison, the Kronos news portal reported.
The man, named Mehmet Emin Özkan, has been in prison for the past 25 years. He reportedly has suffered four heart attacks in the past five years. He has other health problems as well, such as high blood pressure, toxic goiter, osteoporosis, kidney disease, memory loss and loss of hearing and sight. Özkan is unable to take of his basic daily needs, so a cellmate assists him.
Turkish social media users yesterday demanded Özkan’s release. Lawyer and human rights activist Eren Keskin demanded on Twitter that all sick inmates including Özkan be released.
Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Ömer Faruk Gergelioğlu said on Twitter that Özkan was not receiving proper care in prison and should immediately be released.
Özkan was sentenced to aggravated life for alleged membership in the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). He was found responsible for the death of Brig. Gen. Bahtiyar Aydın in October 1993.
Özkan denies any responsibility in the incident, and a court in May ruled for a retrial.
The charges against Özkan were based on two witness testimonies that were later recanted. In a 2014 indictment for what is known as the “Lice trial,” the Diyarbakır Public Prosecutor’s Office said there was no tangible evidence that Özkan had ever taken part in terrorist activities. The trial concerned the alleged illegal activities of gendarmerie intelligence units known as JİTEM.
The PKK has been waging an armed insurgency against Turkey’s security forces since the ’80s in a campaign that has claimed the lives of some 40,000 people. The group is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the US.
from Turkey Purge https://turkeypurge.com/87-year-old-bedridden-inmate-fit-to-remain-in-prison-says-turkish-council-of-forensic-medicine
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