The 392nd sit-in organised by the Prison Commission of the Istanbul Branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD), was held despite the heavy police presence which prevented the action to be held in Galatasaray square. The sit-in is demanding the release of sick prisoners every week.
This week the press statement was read in front of the IHD Istanbul Branch in Taksim. Activists carried photographs of sick prisoners requested to be released and banners saying “Treatment is a right and cannot be prevented” and “Ill Prisoner Fesih Coşkun should be released”.
IHD Istanbul Branch Prison Commission Member Mehmet Acettin, who made the statement, drew attention to the situation of Fesih Coşkun, a ill prisoner who has been in jail for 28 years.
Recalling that Fesih Coşkun was detained and arrested following a police raid at his house in Malazgirt, Muş, in June 1992, Acettin said that Coşkun has been held in prison for 28 years.
Acettin said that Coşkun was subjected to tortures from the first day of detention and added that he suffered from gradual loss of sight caused by torture and is experiencing temporary memory loss.
He added that the “right to a fair trial” was violated. “He was not referred to the hospital for months – said Acettin – and his illnesses has worsened. Because of his age, he now has great difficulty in breathing, moving and even fulfilling his daily needs”.