Arrested 45 Days Ago, 79-Year-Old Inmate Loses His Life

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Mehmet Selim Buğrahan felt unwell in Maraş Türkoğlu Type L Closed Prison, where he had been arrested as a convict for 45 days. Referred to Sütçü İmam University Hospital, Buğrahan has lost his life there.

Arrested pending trial for 7 months on charge of "aiding and abetting a terrorist organization", Buğrahan was sentenced to 4 years and 2 months in prison after he had been released. As his prison sentence was upheld, Buğrahan was arrested again 45 days ago.

Though his age was indicated as 79 on his identity card, his relatives stated that he was actually 87 years old.

As reported by Mezopotamya Agency (MA), after Buğrahan felt ill in prison yesterday (September 9), his fellow inmates informed the prison wardens about the situation. Taken to the hospital of Sütçü İmam University Medical School, he lost his life there yesterday morning.

The MA has also reported that Buğrahan had five children and while one of his children lost his life after joining the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), two of his children have emigrated to Europe after being tortured in custody. His wife is also ill and bedridden. While one of the remaining two of his children is arrested in Bingöl Type M closed Prison, the other one is disabled.

280 suspicious deaths in prisons in the last 6 years

According to the data shared by the Ministry of Justice, 1,734 people in total lost their lives in prisons from 2002 to 2012. The Ministry has also announced that between the years of 2011 and 2017, 280 people suspiciously lost their lives as a result of alleged suicides.

In a statement about ill inmates, Ankara Branch of the Human Rights Association (İHD) previously indicated that from the beginning of 2017 to August 2019, 73 people, 39 of whom were ill inmates, lost their lives in prisons across Turkey. (AS/SD)