AMED – Gulperi Kortak, wife of seriously ill prisoner Ramazan Kortak, said: “If he stays in prison, he will lost his life.”

 

In prisons where numerous human rights violations occur, prisoners serving long sentences are also fighting for their lives. Ramazan Kortak, who has spent 30 years of his life in prison, is one of the prisoners fighting for his life in prison. Kortak has difficulty walking due to high blood pressure, stomach problems, a removed gallbladder, severe headaches and foot pain. He has not been given a definitive diagnosis for the illness causing his ailments.

 

Gulperi Kortak, the wife of Kortak, described the severe human rights violations her husband had suffered while detained at Izmir Buca Prison, stating that he had been poisoned three times due to the food. “They sprinkled hair on the food; it was dirty, with things like seaweed in it. Sometimes he would just wash them with water and eat them. They also do not give him his medication,” she said. 

 

Gulperi Kortak stated that no intervention was made even when Kortak, who was being held in a solitary cell, fainted, saying, “They just looked at him when he fell. If he died, no one would notice.”

 

She said she is also ill and would undergo major surgery soon: "I am ill too, there is nothing I can do. All I want is for them to release him. If he stays there, he will lose his life. Let him be with his children, we will look after him." 

 

NOT REFERRED TO THE FORENSIC MEDICAL INSTITUTE

 

Ramazan Kortak responded to the questions we sent to the prison and he stated that he had applied to the Forensic Medicine Institute (ATK) but had not been transferred. Kortak said: "I was transferred to Izmir City Hospital. Although I had no expectation of being released to the ATK, I was not sent there. My situation is being ignored. My stomach problems are getting worse. I feel that the food provided is making my pain worse.”

 

'THE SUBJECT OF PEACE IS LEADERSHIP'

 

Sharing his call for peace discussions, Kortak said: "The call for the freedom of the leadership (Abdullah Ocalan) will be the most important one. Their freedom and safety is the safety of society. The subject of peace is undoubtedly the Leader. We support his calls and will stand by him to the end." 

 

Kortak and his family demanded that the health conditions of ill prisoners be examined by independent committees.