AMED – The families of Aydın Kudat and Abdurrahman Güner, prisoners held in Karabük Type T Prison for 32 years, stated that their release was arbitrarily prevented and that the administration unlawfully threatened them by saying "We will not release them before the 36 years are up."

 

Aydın Kudat (55) and Abdurrahman Güner (54) were arrested in 1992 based on the statements of 2 confessors in Bismil district of Amed and was tried at the Diyarbakır State Security Court (DGM). The release of Kudat and Güner, who were sentenced to life imprisonment on the grounds of "disrupting the unity and integrity of the state", was blocked three times each. Although Kudat and Güner, who were held in Karabük Type T Prison, were supposed to be released on September 6, 2022, they were not released due to the one-year prison sentence given to them in 1996, on the grounds that they wrote a petition regarding "captive status (not accepting captivity)" in Yozgat in 1995.

Although their acquittal was decided in 2012 after this sentence was overturned, they learned that they were acquitted in December 2022. Although the prisoners, who learned that they were acquitted, applied for their release, their release was postponed for 1 year by the Prison Administration Monitoring Board on the grounds that they did not accept the imposition of "regret". The board once again postponed the release for 3 months in December 2023. Finally, on March 27, 2024, a decision was made to postpone the release of the prisoners for another 5 months before they were brought before the Administration and Observation Board. 

 

THEY HAVE BEEN IN PRISON FOR 32 YEARS

 

Zeynep Güner, who is both Abdurrahman Güner's uncle's daughter and his guardian, said that she last saw her cousin in February. The prison administration said to the prisoners, “Even if this month is full, we will not leave you. We will not release you until your 36 years are up." Güner noted that when the prisoners were asked, "Why don't you let us go?", they received the answer, "We want it that way, we won't let you go."

 

Stating that the release of many prisoners was prevented, Güner stated that the other prisoners who last met with the prison administration were told that they were not released because they did not accept repentance and did not transfer to independent prisons. Stating that they talked to her cousin by phone on April 20, Güner said: “I asked about his situation. My cousin told me, 'Nobody is standing over us. It's been 32 years and no one has done anything for us yet. Let the press, lawyers and families focus on our situation. Let them remove this unlawfulness.'”

 

MUST BE EVACUATED

 

Stating that both the prisoners and their families demanded that the unlawfulness be removed and the grievances be redressed, Güner stated the illnes of her cousin and said: “He has many diseases. They take him to the hospital late. They don't treat it properly either. That's why we want him to be freed and treated as soon as possible."

 

'WHEN THE DOOR KNOCKS, SHE SAYS, HAS AYDIN COME?'

 

Birgül Turan, the sister of Aydın Kudat, whose release was prevented, said that her brother's condition was not good and that her brother had diseases such as hepatitis B and stomach disease. Stating that they talked on the phone every 15-20 days and that these conversations stopped immediately, Turan said: “My mother is 90 years old, she is waiting for him. My mother says, 'Let him come out and see him while he is alive.' It's been 30 years, why don't you quit? What rights do they have? What's their problem with us? My mother is 90 years old and waiting for her child. When the doorbell rings, she says, 'Has Aydin come?' What will we do if this woman dies today without seeing her son? That pain will stay with us.”

 

SHE HAS NOT SEEN HER SON FOR ABOUT 25 YEARS

 

Zahide Kudat, who has not been able to see her son Aydın for about 25 years due to her illness, said: “I wish my eyes could only see him once. I want my son to be released. I want to see him. I haven't seen it in years. I'm ill, I'm on the ground. I cannot go to see the prison far away. If I had seen it once..."

 

'FOR ANOTHER 30 YEARS, HE WILL CONTINUE TO RESIST'

 

Ramazan Tanrıverdi, who was arrested at the same time as Kudat and Güner for the same case and was released on March 28, 2023 after 30 years and 7 months of captivity, said that many prisoners, like his friends, were victimized. Tanriverdi, who wanted the unlawfulness committed against his friends to be emphasized, said: “No friend of 30 years has been released from Karabük Type T so far. There is nothing legal. They don't even take these friends to the committee, they punish them. Unlawful punishments. They are being held hostage. They should not trample the law. People who has risked 30 years will continue to resist even if they serves 30 more years. They never back down.”