Inmate University Student Allegedly Commits Suicide

Harun Torgay, a student at Ankara University, has died at Sincan High Security Prison yesterday. Advocate Pınar Akdemir said Torgay was found hung dead in his cell this morning.

Yesterday afternoon, Ankara 13th High Criminal Court held a hearing on Torgay's case for being a KCK organization member.

"Tougher had psychological issues from the first day of his police detention. He was also receiving treatment prior to his detention," Pınar Akdemir, Toygar's lawyer, told bianet.

On yesterday's hearing, the court ordered to transfer Toygar to Forensics Institute for judicial competence due to psychological instability.

However, Toygar was unable to end up at Forensic Institute. Akdemir said that Toygar hang himself in his cell early this morning.

Torgay's body, though, has been sent to Forensics Institute for autopsy. The institution will determine his real cause of death.

Prisoned for 5 months

Harun Torgay has been arrested on November 12 last year along with 10 other fellow students from Ankara University's Language, History and Geography Institute for "involving in KCK organization's Ankara University cell" and other related charges.

Prosecutors also claimed that Torgay provided information concerning his friends to the police. ​

Yesterday's first hearing at Ankara 13th High Criminal Court was attended by jailed suspects Torgay, Servet Başak, Erkan Eryiğit, Abdülkerim Cin, Maşallah Demir, Necmettin Işik, Kadir Toraman, Mehmet Şimşek, Kerem Çiçek, Soner Gün and İsa Geylan and unjailed suspects Cebrail Güler, Muzaffer Acer and Musa Nagnalo.

Suspects denied charges related to "being an illegal organization member" and "propagating for illegal organization".

The judge panel released suspects Başak and Eryiğit pending a trial, while the remaining 9 suspects including Torgay were ordered to transfer back to Sincan High Security Prison. (AS)