Paralysed Prisoner Still Not Released From Prison

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Ramazan Özalp, a Kurdish political prisoner in Antep Prison in Turkey, became  paralysed due to the tumor in his brain. Despite this and having undergone 3 medical operations, Özalp has still not been released from prison, DIHA (Dicle News Agency) reported.

Violations of rights experienced by ill prisoners in Turkey continue every single day. As the funerals of ill prisoners are coming out of Turkish prisons, the authorities still remain unconcerned with the alarming situation.

Ramazan Özalp was detained on charges of “being a member of an organization” and “aiding and abetting an illegal organization” while he was performing prayers at a mosque in the Kurdish province of Şırnak in 1993. Özalp is still held in prison despite his report documenting that a tumor developed in his brain when he was in prison.

Özalp has had the tumor in his brain for three years and nothing has changed in his state of health despite the three medical operations he has undergone, Rewşen Kök, Ramazan Özalp’s sister, said.

Rewşen Kök stated that his brother is trying to survive despite his paralysed body and asked for his instant release from the prison.

“Özalp’s illness is permanent and has caused him to become disabled. Özalp is aging; therefore, he must receive treatment and his state of health must be followed up,” Özalp’s medical report documents.

Rewşen Kök explained:

Doctors say that if my brother does not get a comprehensive treatment, it might cause further progression of his disease and even lead to his death.

While he underwent a medical operation, they put him in handcuffs. What have we done to deserve all those things? Will the state release him after he dies? Is that the way that the state takes sincere steps?

I don’t want my brother’s funeral to come out of that prison. All his needs are met by his friends in the ward. His wife is also sick and their financial situation is not sufficient. He has a son and the state has enlisted him in the army.

What kind of a peace process is that? Why are they treating our people so badly? The state must take sincere steps for peace. We do not want to see people dying anymore.