Imprisoned Rights Advocate Erkem Had Gastric Bleeding, Will Be Sent to the Hospital in 2 Months
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Nalan Erkem, who was among the rights advocates who were arrested after being detained in Büyükada, had gastric bleeding in prison. She will be sent to the hospital on November 1.
Lawyer Murat Dinçer said that Erkem was taken to the prison hospital in handcuffsand that the surgeon did not take off her handcuffs during the meeting. "Nalan Erkem said that the doctor didn't even look at their faces and didn't examine them. This degrading behavior made her feel very bad".
"Handcuffing patients is a serious rights violation"
Lawyer Murat Dinçer said:
"Nalan Erkem has been jailed for a month. She had gastric bleeding. The issue with her intestine is not new, but in prison this problem reoccurred. She has lost a lot of weight in prison and she is very weak.
"There is a hospital, like a dispensary, in Silivri Prison. People are not handcuffed at any level in prisons but they are just handcuffed when they go to see the doctor. Handcuffing patients is a serious rights violation".
"The doctor did not take off the handcuffs or examine her"
"The general surgeon didn't take off her handcuffs. Nalan Erkem has complaints with the general surgeon, not the other doctors. Even though she reminded them to take off her handcuffs, [the general surgeon] didn't take off her handcuffs or examine her, and didn't even look at their faces. She explained in tears that this degrading behavior made her feel very bad.
"The doctors have Nalan Erkem's medical report about her condition. We don't know why they set her appointment for November 1. We will take action concerning this".
What happened?
Nalan Erkem and Özlem Dalkıran (Helsinki Citizens Assembly), İlknur Üstün (Women's Coalition), İdil Eser (Human Rights Watch Director to Turkey) and Veli Acu (Human Rights Agenda Association), Günal Kurşun (Human Rights Agenda Association), Nejat Taştan (Association for Monitoring Equal Rights), Şeyhmuz Özbekli (Rights Initiative), Ali Garawi (human rights trainer), and Peter Steudtner (German citizen human rights trainer) were taken into custody during a training workshop in Büyükada, one of the Prince Islands in İstanbul.
On July 11, an additional seven days of detention was issued for the rights advocates.
On July 18, Eser, Dalkıran, Kurşun, Acu, Garawi and Steudtner were arrested. Erkem, Üstün, Taştan and Özbekli were released on probation and international travel ban was imposed on them.
Üstün, Erkem, Taştan and Özbekli were released on probation with travel.
On July 21, the prosecutor objected to the release of the four rights advocates and a detention warrant was issued for them. Being detained from their homes, Üstün and Erkem were arrested on July 23.
On July 25, Taştan and Özbekli were released on probation with travel ban. (ÇT/TK/LN)