HATAY - The request of seriously ill prisoner Sıddık Güler, 85, for an electric wheelchair was rejected by the prison administration. 

 

The systematies practices against ill prisoners are getting heavier day by day. Sıddık Güler, 85, is on the list of seriously ill prisoners of the Human Rights Association (IHD). The request of Sıddık Güler for an electric wheelchair was rejected by the prison administration. The reason for the rejection of Güler's request, who is held in Iskenderun Type T Closed Prison, was stated by the Administration and Observation Board as "There is a wheelchair in the ward where the convict is staying and in our Penal Execution Institution and he can use it if he needs it". 

 

Güler, who has diseases such as hypertension, heart disease and inflammatory joint rheumatism, has been imprisoned since 1994 due to a life sentence imposed on political grounds. Güler, who was detained in 1994 after a clash in Amed (Diyarbakır), was sentenced to life imprisonment by the State Security Court (DGM) of the time on the grounds that he "participated in the clash with his licensed shotgun". Güler was released in the 2000s but he was re-arrested on the grounds of the court's ‘incorrect execution calculation’. Güler, who was imprisoned in many prisons in Turkey, became unable to survive on his own due to the severe torture and prison conditions. On 29 March 2022, he was transferred to Menemen Type R Prison against his will. Güler, whose needs were met by his ward mates and who was dependent on a wheelchair, was transferred to İskenderun  Type T Closed Prison on 12 October 2024 on the grounds that he "refused to accept treatment". 

 

On 24 January, her lawyer Mehtap Sert applied to the İskenderun Chief Public Prosecutor's Office with the request that Güler be given an electric wheelchair. The Prosecutor's Office requested the İskenderun Type T Closed Prison Directorate Administrative and Observation Board to convene and decide on the electric wheelchair request. On 29 January, the Board convened and referred to Güler's life sentence on political grounds and reads: "On 12-10-2024, it was observed that Güler entered Menemen Type R Closed Penal Execution Institution as a transfer due to the end of his treatment. Although he was asked to be given an electric wheelchair, Article 12 of the Regulation on Items and Substances that can be kept in Penal Execution Institutions states that ‘Convicts can keep prostheses, orthopedic neck collars, orthopedic beds, respiratory and hearing aids, canes, wheelchairs and similar medical items that are necessary for their health, provided that they are documented by a doctor's report in their wards, rooms and annexes. In addition, there is a wheelchair in the ward where the convict stays and in our Penal Execution Institution and he can use it if he needs it. It was seen that he was accommodated in the A/23 room ward and that he stayed with 11 people in the room ward. In this respect, the request dated 24-01-2025 is rejected...’

 

Mehtap Sert pointed out that Güler is still being held in prison despite the report issued by Izmir Atatürk Research Hospital stating that ‘Güler is in a state of disability and hearing loss’ and added, "Since he has difficulty walking, his family offered to buy an electric chair. However, the prison administration refused on the grounds that it was not on the canteen list. As a result of our institutional meetings, the prison director stated that the process would be managed according to the answer to be given to the ministry. We made a written application to İskenderun Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on 24-01-2025. We were notified of the Administrative Observation Board's rejection decision on 30-01-2025. Unfortunately, we could not see any justification in the reasoned decision, which started with the sentence that Sıddık Güler was convicted of crimes committed against the state. On the one hand, there is an 85-year-old ill prisoner who is said to be in a ‘state of incapacitation’ and not released, and on the other hand, there is the reality of the solution process being carried out. If the goal is peace and the road to peace is a solution, Sıddık Güler, whose expected benefit from being in prison is no longer possible, must be released. The decision to refuse a wheelchair, which is a very humanitarian request for a ill and elderly prisoner who is kilometres away from his family, is an indication of the sincerity of the parties. We will appeal the decision. But perhaps his life will not be enough to see the result. Prisons must stop being a separate punishment system for ill prisoners." 

 

MA / Hamdullah Yağız Kesen