The KNK has sent an open letter to Prime Minister Erdogan and Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ calling for the release of hundreds of critically ill prisoners who are languishing in Turkish jails without proper medical attention. As the letter explains, despite recent changes to the law that would allow for seriously ill prisoners to be released, any prisoner charged under the anti-terror law who is suffering health problems has no chance of release under the current rules.
We know of at least 544 prisoners in Turkey are seriously ill who deserve to be released. We also know that 2300 people have died in Turkish prisons in the last 13 years.
The appeal has been signed by over 12o prominent public figures from across the world, including Selahattin Demirtaş, Co-chair of Peace and Democracy Party (BDP); writer and former political prisoner Ragip Zarakolu; Professor Noam Chomsky; several Members of the British, Irish and European Parliaments; and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, to name a few. The appeal was also published in Turkish daily Radikal.
Dear Prime Minister R.T. Erdoğan, Dear Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdağ
At present there are 544 prisoners critically ill in Turkish prisons according to reports of the Human Rights Association İnsan Hakları Derneği (IHD) and Türkiye Insan Haklari Vakfi (TIHV). 163 of them are in life-threating conditions. The Minister of Justice recently stated that 2300 prisoners had died in the last 13 years.
The situation in Turkish prisons is in general extremely inhuman.
After a recent amendment of the custody law passed in January 2013 chances for ill prisoners to be released have decreased even more. Political prisoners suffering from health problems have in fact no chance to be released, because they are charged under the controversial “Anti Terror Legislation”.
According to this legislation political prisoners can be termed a threat to public security, which prevents their release. In addition the law established in January 2013 indicates that forensic institutes make the decision whether the prisoners are released. But the forensic institutes are well known for being politically biased.
The Turkish Human Rights Association, Bar Associations and the Medical Association (TBB) have denounced this practice. Opposition politicians have made proposals for improvement of legal regulations in parliament, but they have not been approved until now.
The imprisonment and abuses of critically ill persons violate the “Right to life” and the “Prohibition of Torture” regulations of the “European Convention of Human Rights”. The inhuman conditions in Turkish prisons must be improved. Human rights abuses are not tolerable. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) condemned Turkey in many cases.
Dear Prime Minister R.T. Erdoğan, dear Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdağ, as a first step we ask you to take all possible measures to ensure the release of all critically ill prisoners in Turkey.
Signatories:
Turkey
Prof. Dr. Murat Belge, Academic and Publisher
Akın Birdal, Honorary President of the Human Rights Association of Turkey (IHD)
Hasan Cemal, Journalist and Author
Selahattin Demirtaş, Co-chair of Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and Member of the Parliament in Turkey
Hatip Dicle, Imprisoned Politician
Aynur Doğan, Singer
Aslı Erdoğan, Author
Prof. Dr. Büşra Ersanlı, Academic
Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, Chair of Turkey Human Rights Foundation (TIHV)
Prof. Dr. Gencay Gürsoy, Neurologist and Human Rights Activist, former Chair of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB)
Eren Keskin, Lawyer and Human Rights Activist
Sema Kaygusuz, Author
Osman Kavala, Founder and Director
Murathan Mungan, Poet and Author
Sırrı Süreya Önder, Member of the Parliament in Turkey and Film Director
Ahmet Şık, Journalist
Sebahat Tuncel, Co-chair of People’s Democracy Party (HDP)
Vedat Türkali, Author
Ahmet Türk, Co-chair of Democratic Society Congress (DTK)
Öztürk Türkdoğan, Chair of Human Rights Association
Yıldırım Türker, Author and Poet
Ragıp Zarakolu, Author and Publisher
Sezgin Tanrıkulu, Vice-Leader of People’s Republican Party (CHP) and Member of the Parliament in Turkey
Pınar Aydinlar, Singer and Activist
South Africa
Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Archbishop, South Africa
Moulana Ihsaan Hendricks, President of the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC), South Africa.
Essa Moosa, Judge, South Africa
National Muslim Prison Board, South Africa
USA
Prof. Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor MIT, Philosopher, USA
Prof. Immanuel Wallerstein, Sociologist and Analyst, Yale University, USA
Janet Biehl, Writer and communalist, USA.
Canada
Maude Barlow, Author, Former UN Advisor on Water, Canada
Avi Haligua, Journalist, Vancouver, Canada
Latin America
Oscar Olivera, Laureate of the Goldman Environmental Prize Goldman and the Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award, Bolivia
Ricardo Gustavo Espeja, Journalist and Historian, Argentinia
Luis Rosadilla, Senator, Uruguay
Beate Taufer, Psychologist, Uruguay
Dr. Sara Perona, Philosopher, Uruguay
Daniel Heugas, Engineer, Uruguay
European Parliament
Dr. Renate Sommer, Member of the European Parliament, European People’s Party (Christian Democrats), DE
Jean Lambert, Member of the European Parliament, Green Party, UK
Ska Keller, Member of the European Parliament, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance, DE
Member of the Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, DE
Gabi Zimmer, President of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left. DE
Jürgen Klute, Member of the European Parliament,European United Left/Nordic Green Left, DE.
UK
Ernesto Laclau, Political theorist, Buenos Aires/London, UK
Prof. Bill Bowring, President of the European Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights (ELDH), International Secretary, Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, UK
Prof. Mary Davis, Professor of Labour History at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK
Bruce Kent, Vice-President, Pax Christi, UK
Prof. Dr. Latif Waid, Economist, London, UK
Prof. Dr. Cynthia Cockburn, Feminist researcher and writer, UK
Dr. Radha D’Souza, Academic, writer and human rights campaigner, UK
Dr. Thomas Jeffrey Miley, Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge, UK
Dr. Les Levidov, Senior Research Fellow, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
Dr. Shahrar Ali, London Green Party European Election candidate, UK
Elfyn Llwyd, MP, House of Commons, UK
Hywel Williams, MP, House of Commons, UK
Maggie Bowden, General Secretary of the Human Rights Organization “Liberation”, UK
Frances Webber, Human rights lawyer, UK
Margaret Owen OBE, Barrister and Director of Widows for Peace through Democracy (WPD), UK
Gareth Peirce, Human rights lawyer, UK
Louise Christian, Human rights lawyer, UK
Jonathan Fryer, Writer and broadcaster, UK
Caroline Allen, London Green Party European Election candidate, UK
Nick Hildyard, Policy Analyst, UK.
Ireland
Conor Murphy, MP, on behalf of the 5 Sinn Féin Members of Parliament (UK),Northern Ireland
Pat Sheehan, Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), on behalf of the 29 Sinn Féin MLA’s at the Northern Ireland Assembly, Northern Ireland
Seán Crowe, Teachta Dála, on behalf of the 14 Sinn Féin TD’s at Leinster House (Parliament) of Ireland.
Germany
Prof. Dr. Andreas Buro, Political Scientist, Coordinator of the NGO Dialog-Kreis, Grävenwiesbach, Germany
Prof. Dr. med. Ulrich Gottstein, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), Frankfurt, Germany
Cem Özdemir, Member of Federal Parliament, Chairman of the Alliance 90/ The Greens, Berlin, Germany
Claudia Roth, Vice President of the Federal Parliament, Berlin,Germany
Kai Gehring, Member of Federal Parliament, Alliance 90/ The Greens, Berlin, Germany
Manuel Sarrazin, Member of Federal Parliament, Alliance 90/ The Greens, Germany
Uwe Kekeritz, Member of Federal Parliament, Alliance 90/ The Greens, Germany
Annette Groth, Member of Federal Parliament, Left Party, Berlin, Germany
Ulla Jelpke, Member of Federal Parliament, Left Party, Berlin, Germany
Karin Binder, Member of Federal Parliament, Left Party, Berlin, Germany
Martina Renner, Member of Federal Parliament, Left Party, Berlin, Germany
Thomas Gebauer, Executive Director of medico international, Frankfurt, Germany
Dr. Gisela Penteker, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), Hemmoor, Germany
Dr. Christiane Lang, Chair professional association Philosophy of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Dr. Rolf Hosfeld, Writer and Historian, Schwielowsee, Germany
Dr. Heinz-Jürgen Schneider, Lawyer and Author, Hamburg, Germany
Prof. Armin Rieser, Bonn, Germany
Dogan Akhanli, Writer, Cologne, Germany
Albrecht Kieser, Journalist, Cologne, Germany
Ali Zülfikar, Artist, Cologne, Germany
Gerd Schumann, Author, Berlin, Germany
Memo Sahin, Writer, Dialog-Kreis, Cologne, Germany
Pater Wolfgang Jungheim, Pax Christi, Dialogkreis, Lahnstein, Germany
Atilla Keskin, Writer, Cologne, Germany
Yüksel Yavuz, Film director, Berlin, Germany
Susanne Hennig, Chairwoman of the Left Party in Thuringia, Germany
Matthias Bärwolff, Member of Parliament Thuringia, Left Party, Germany
Barbara Cárdenas, Member of State Parliament Hessen, Left Party, Germany
Christiane Schneider, Member of State Parliament Hessen, Left Party, Germany
Cansu Özdemir, Member of State Parliament Hessen, Left Party, Germany
Norway
Eugene Schoulgin, Writer, Vice-President of PEN International, Oslo, Norway
Erling Folkvord, Former Parliamentarian Party Red and writer, Norway
Efraim Bulut, Cardiologist, Norway
Arne L. Lynngaard, Managing Director and former chair of Rafto Foundation, Norway
Kariane Westrheim, PhD, Chairperson EUTCC & University of Bergen, Norway
Sweden
Valter Mutt, Member of Parliament, Green Party, Sweden
Hans Linde, Member of Parliament, Left Party, Foreign Policy Spokesperson, Sweden
Bodil Ceballos, Member of Parliament, Green Party, Foreign Policy Spokesperson, Sweden
Maria Hagberg, Author and peace and women´s activist, Sweden
Ann-Margarethe Livh, Commissioner in Opposition in the municipality of Stockholm, Sweden
Ann-Carin Landström, Person responsible for international affairs, Left party, Sweden
Mustafa Can, Journalist and Author, Sweden
Kemal Görgu, Chairman of the Swedish Peace Council, Sweden
Sven Wollter, Actor, Sweden
Olof Buckard, Satirist, Actor and Chairman of Artists for Peace, Sweden
Finland
Dr. Tove Skutnabb-Kangas, Researcher and Author, Finland/Denmark
Denmark
Erik Arnsted, Musician and Member of UNA, Denmark
Switzerland
Carlo Sommaruga, Member of the National Council (Social Democratic Party), President of the Foreign Policy Commission, Lawyer, Switzerland
Yvonne Gilli, Member of the National Council (Green Party), Switzerland
Liliane Maury Pasquier, Member of the Swiss Council of States for Geneva, Chair of the Commission for Social Security and Health, Switzerland
Maya Heuschmann, Coordinator of the Turkey-Section of Amnesty International, Switzerland.
Spain
Óscar Menéndez, Science journalist, Spain
Manuel Martorell, Journalist and historian, Spain
Ainara Mendiola, Journalist and translator, Euskal Herria, Basque Country
Hungary
G. M. Tamás, Philosopher, former member of the Hungarian Parliament, Hungary
France
Jacques Gaillot, Catholic Bishop, France
Netherlands
Dr. Joost Jongerden, Sociologist, Netherlands
Israel
Prof. Nurit Peled-Elhanan, 2001 Sakharov prize laureate for human rights and the freedom of thought, Israel
Cyprus
Dr. Ahmet Djavit An, Paediatrician and Historian, Cyprus
Source: Peace in Kurdistan (Campaign for a peaceful solution of the Kurdish question)
