İHD: Circular on ill prisoners is 'good as a beginning'

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Human Rights Organization (İHD) held a press conference on the new procedures regulating the release of ill prisoners issued by the Ministry of Justice.

New criteria were brought regarding "the reduction or abolition of sentences due to illness, disability, or aging" with a circular by the Ministry dated January 2, 2023 number 20/1.

The circular allows the authorities to determine prisoners' health conditions, with no requirement for a request by them.

İHD evaluated this as "quite significant and positive" and said that this way it will be possible to make a full list of the prisoners who are ill, disabled, or who are aged and who cannot stay in prison, and a genuine process can be started related to their release."

"Implementation should be monitored"

According to the İHD statement today, with the new circular, it will be sufficient to send the medical report of a full-fledged state hospital to the Forensic Medicine Institute and it will not be necessary to take the prisoner to the Institute as well. This will keep the ill prisoners from suffering in patrol wagons on the way, according to İHD. And if the Forensic Medicine Institute requests to see the prisoner, she or he will be taken before the day of the examination, so as to minimize the inconvenience.

The circular regulates that the Forensic Medicine Institution should identify only 'if there is a chronic illness, disability or aging' which is a significant step taken with regard to this issue. Because the Forensic Institute was usually indicating that the person had a chronic illness but also an opinion if the person can or cannot stay in prison which was bringing the process to a deadlock. We think that it is important that the circular has been formulated in this way."

"Article 5 of the circular states that the police should carry out research about the occupation, the personal condition, and the family situation of the prisoner. The implementation of this provision should be monitored closely since such research on prisoners who are covered in the scope of the Anti-Terror Law usually include subjective evaluations."

"We also believe that it is important that the circular states that the same procedure should be followed not only for verdicts, but also for detainees, and that the same conditions should be indicated as a reason for the release. Because the courts are ruling for the continuation of detention for many detainees despite chronic illnesses.

"We find this circular by the Ministry good as a beginning. However, in order for the problems of the ill prisoners to be solved our report issued on November 4, 2022, related to ill prisoners including our proposals for legal amendments should be taken into account and essential amendments should be made to the Anti-Terror Law.

According to İHD, such legal amendments should be made with the participation of non-governmental organizations, bar associations, medical associations, and other related parties in order to solve the problems permanently.

 Ill prisoners in Türkiye

Last year, 73 prisoners died across Türkiye, according to MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu. Causes of 34 deaths were recorded as suicide.

According to the 2021 Council of Europe Criminal Statistics Reports, Türkiye has the second-highest number of prisoners globally, with approximately 300,000 people behind bars. According to Human Rights Association (İHD) Central Prisons Committee, there were 1,517 ill prisoners, with 651 in critical condition, as of April 2022.

At least 50 ill prisoners died in prisons or shortly after being released in the first eight months of the year, according to the Lawyers for Freedom Association (ÖHD).

Article 16 of the Enforcement Law, amended by Law No. 6411 in 2013, states that "enforcement of sentences for prisoners, who cannot live on their own under prison conditions due to a critical sickness or disability and evaluated to pose no threat to public safety, can be deferred until they recuperate as per the procedure set forth in the third paragraph." However, the İHD notes that this provision is not actually implemented. (AS/PE)