Yılmaz Çerçel, a seriously ill prisoner whose release had been postponed six times by the Prison Administration and Observation Board, was released from Eskişehir H-Type Closed Prison after 33 years behind bars.

 

Çerçel was welcomed outside the prison by his family, executives of the DEM Party provincial organization, and Enver Tek, Central Anatolia representative of the Federation of Legal and Solidarity Associations for Families of Prisoners and Convicts (MED TUHAD-FED).

 

Speaking after the reception, Enver Tek said that the release of prisoners was a positive development but called for the release of all political prisoners, particularly sick prisoners who remain behind bars. Referring to the Peace and Democratic Society Process, Tek said: “We want our friends in prisons to be released as soon as possible through a legal regulation.”

 

WHO IS YILMAZ ÇERÇEL?

 

Yılmaz Çerçel was arrested in Amed on 17 March 1993. He was held in Diyarbakır, Bartın and Eskişehir H-Type Closed Prisons. Due to health problems, the execution of his sentence was postponed between 2004 and 2006. In addition to receiving treatment at Bakırköy Psychiatric Hospital between 2008 and 2012, Çerçel is also unable to use his left hand.