ANTEP - Durri Kaygusuz, mother of Şaban Kaygusuz who is 90 percent disabled and being to stand up in prison even though he is missing one leg, pointed out that the pressure on prisoners had increased and demanded justice.

 

According to the data of the Human Rights Association (İHD); 1,517 patients, 651 of whom are seriously ill, are being held in prisons. Şaban Kaygusuz (25), who is 90 percent disabled, held in Kayseri Bünyan No. 1 Type T Closed Prison, was arrested after he was injured in a clash in 2017. Pressure and violations of rights continue against Kaygusuz, who does not have a right hand and one leg. Kaygusuz, who was treated at the hospital in Van for a week after being injured in Şırnak, was arrested while injured and sent to Siirt Prison. Kaygusuz, who was held in Siirt Prison for a month, was later transferred to Diyarbakır Type D Prison. Kaygusuz, who was on trial with a request of life imprisonment, was transferred to Kayseri Bünyan No. 1 Type T Closed Prison on October 20, 2021, after being held in Diyarbakır for 3 years. Kaygusuz was subjected to strip search at the entrance of the prison and was kept in a cell for days, although it was not possible for him to live in a cell alone. Kaygusuz was forced to stand up during counts even though he did not have a leg, was attacked by the guards in the prison on January 23, because he refused to say "How happy is the one who says I am Turkish".

 

Kaygusuz stated in a phone call with his family that they have been subjected to systematic verbal attacks by the guards and prison managers every day in Kayseri for about a year, and that they are fighting against it. Mother Durri Kaygusuz (63), living in Antep, who expressed her concern for her son's life, drew attention to the increasing attacks on prisoners in prisons in recent days and called for everyone to focus on prisons.

 

MY SON WAS TRANSFERRED TO ANOTHER PRISON WITHOUT NOTIFYING US

 

Stating that if her son was not arrested with injuries in 2017, if necessary medical interventions were made, his leg would not be cut, Durri Kaygusuz said: "We learned that my son was transferred from Siirt to Diyarbakır when we went to prison. It was easier for me to visit him when he was in Diyarbakır, but then, he was exiled to Kayseri on October 20, 2021. It is distand and it is harder for me to go there. I go to visit him whenever I can. I continue to work as an agriculture worker to be able to visit him."

 

HE IS HELD IN PRISON DESPITE BEING DISABLED

 

Condemning his son being held in prison despite being desabled, Kaygusuz said: “There is no justice in Turkey. If there was justice, Şaban and ill prisoners like him would be released. Today we have prisoners aged 70-80 like Mehmet Emin Özkan and Sıdık Güler. Being taken to prison is another hardship for prisoners. When they take him to hospital, they hurt him so much. They remove his prosthesic leg and hand. They held him in a cell during the pandemic. He was taken to a ward as a result of the insistance of other prisoners."

 

'PRISONERS AND FAMILIES ARE UNDER ISOLATION'

 

Expressing that the prisoners are isolated in prisons, Kaygusuz said: "The families of the prisoners also live in isolation. The family of a prisoner, who is held in isolation, is also a form of isolation. My whole family lives under isolation. Despite all the pressure and threats, my son did not give up fighting. Today, mothers are calling for justice in front of the courthouses. Their will is our will. Turkish state makes them suffer a lot, but despite all these pressures, they stand strong.

 

MA / Ceylan Şahinli