ISTANBUL - Esra Bilen, the lawyer of Soydan Akay, an ill prisoner in Marmara Prison, said that his client had a heart attack in the past and was sent back to the ward at the prison hospital where he was taken, saying "Your blood pressure has risen".
The health problems of Soydan Akay, a seriously ill prisoner held in Marmara Closed Prison No 9 in Silivri district of Istanbul, are getting worse day by day. Akay was taken to the hospital in the prison campus 7 times in March, 3 of which were registered as emergencies. Akay was hospitalised 4 times with cardiological and infection complaints and 3 times with heart attack and blood pressure complaints. Akay was hospitalised again on 26 March with the same complaints. According to the family, the prison doctor diagnosed Akay with "high blood pressure" and sent him back to the ward.
When Akay's family learnt about their son's condition, they showed the hospital documents to another doctor. According to his family, the doctor stated that Akay had a heart attack.
HIS RELEASE POSTPONED 4 TIMES
Soydan Akay was diagnosed with prostate cancer in June 2018. He also has many other diseases such as joint rheumatism, hepatitis B and heart spasms. Despite his illnesses, Akay's release was prevented for the 4th time by the Administration and Observation Board on 10 February.
Akay, who was detained in Izmir in 1993, was arrested on the allegation of "attempting to separate a part of the territory under the sovereignty of the state from the state administration". Akay was first sentenced to death. Then, due to a change in the law, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. During his 32 years of imprisonment, Akay was held in Izmir, Aydın, Amed (Diyarbakır), Sêrt (Siirt), Muş and Istanbul prisons respectively.
His lawyer Esra Bilen reminded that Akay should have been conditionally released 2 years ago, and said that his release was prevented by "arbitrary and baseless" decisions of the Administration and Observation Board. Esra Bilen emphasised that Akay was held in solitary confinement in Marmara Prison, to which he was transferred 8 years ago, although he was not sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment. Despite this intensive surveillance, the Administration and Observation Board postponed Akay's release in its report.
THEY CALLED HEART ATTACK AS BLOOD PRESSURE AND SENT HIM AWAY
Esra Bilen emphasised that Akay is a prisoner with multiple diseases and said, "During the pandemic process, he received a severe treatment such as cancer treatment, yet he continued to be held in a single cell. This is a hostile treatment. He had a heart attack last week, when he was taken to the hospital, they said 'your blood pressure rose' and sent him back to prison. However, when his family showed the ECG results to the physicians from the internet, they learnt that Akay had a heart attack. All this is a hostile treatment against human dignity".
2024 DATA
According to Human Rights Association (IHD) data, at least 50 prisoners lost their lives in the first 9 months of 2024. Most of those who lost their lives were ill prisoners. According to the data of the Ministry of Justice, 709 prisoners died in prisons in 11 months of 2024.
Again, the release of many political prisoners was postponed or their execution was burnt by the Administration and Prison Monitoring Board, which came into force in 2021. In October 2024, the Ministry of Justice stated that the release of 8,521 prisoners was postponed on the grounds of "lack of good behaviour".
MA/ Ömer İbrahimoğlu