‘No Effective Investigation Launched into Inmate’s Death’

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Concerning the application as to suicide in prison, the Constitutional Court has ruled prisoner’s right to life was violated.

U.Ö. lost his life aged 33 in Ümraniye Type T Closed Prison. Claiming that there was negligence in treatment of her son’s psychological problems, his mother S.Ö. had filed a criminal complaint against those who were responsible for his son’s death.

Giving deposition upon the complaint as to why he wasn’t taken under treatment by a psychologist or hospital, the prison warden had said, “Most of our inmates are suicidal, these are normal incidents”.

In its reasoned decision, the Constitutional Court ruled that his right to life regulated in Article 17 of the Constitution was violated, and the death wasn’t effectively investigated and that it sent the file to the prosecutor’s office to be reinvestigated.

“Suicidal” report by psychologist

U.Ö. was sent to Ümraniye Type T Closed Prison on February 6, 2014 for the execution of his sentence of 10 months and 300 days in prison on charge of “possessing or receiving drug in order to use”.

The prison psychologist in his or report said that “the inmate is drug addict and having difficulty in adapting to the prison life” and referred to prison infirmary due to “depressive symptom and suicide tendency”. (AS/TK)