'Hospitalized Ill Prisoner Sise Bingöl Should Be Released'

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85-year-old ill prisoner Sise Bingöl, who has been behind bars in the Tarsus Type T Women's Closed Prison in the province of Adana, was hospitalized on November 2, 2018.

Speaking to bianet, her attorney Gülşen Özbek has stated that they went to the hospital to see Bingöl; however, the gendarmerie officers waiting in front of her hospital room said, "Bring a permission from the Prosecutor's Office."

Adding that they could not reach the Prosecutor's Office to receive the permission at the weekend, Özbek has indicated, "Considering that Sise Bingöl is not in a state to look after herself, we will submit an application so that one of her children could accompany her at the hospital."

Özbek has also stated, "Today, we will once again make our applications both to see Grandma Sise and to raise our request for a hospital attendant. Her state of health has been gradually deteriorating. There is a nodule in her lungs. Her lungs need to be medically examined."

Taken to the Mersin University Hospital, Sise Bingöl could be released from prison in the event that the necessary medical report is issued.

A call was made for her release

On November 3, Freedom to Ill Prisoners Initiative made a call for the release of 85-year-old Sise Bingöl from prison.

Various human rights defenders attended the statement for the press in front of the Human Rights Association (İHD) Ankara Branch office. Reading out the statement on behalf of the initiative, the Central Executive Committee Chair of the İHD Nuray Çevirmen stated:

"Sise Bingöl was arrested in the district of Varto in Muş in 2016. Having been arrested for two and a half months and being released at her first hearing, she was arrested again in April 2017 after her prison sentence was upheld by the Bingöl Erzurum Regional Court of Appeal. She was first sent to the Muş Type E Prison, then to the Type T Women's Closed Prison."

Emphasizing that Bingöl was taken from Muş to Tarsus in three days while in handcuffs and under unhealthy conditions, Çevirmen also indicated that these circumstances have made a negative impact on her health.

In the statement for the press, Nuray Çevirmen stated that Sise Bingöl has to be under constant medical supervision due to her cardiovascular, diabetic, pulmonary and uterine disorders.

According to the figures shared by the İHD Prison Commission, there are 1,154 ill prisoners in Turkey, 401 of whom are in critical condition. (EMK/SD)