Urgent action letter to the UN Special Procedures on the treatment of the gravely ill prisoner Aysel Tuğluk held in the Kocaeli Kandıra F-Type prison in Turkey.
/Turkey must release Aysel Tuğluk and other severely ill prisoners who are not fit to remain in prison immediately in compliance with Turkey’s domestic and international law obligations.
43 bar associations and lawyers and human rights organizations from across the world and Turkey wrote an urgent action letter (available here) to the United Nations (UN) special mandate holders drawing their attention to the imminent risk to health and life of ill prisoner Aysel Tuğluk held in Kocaeli Kandıra F-Type Prison, Turkey since December 2016.
The letter dated 20 January 2022 has been addressed to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders; the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right of Everyone to the Enjoyment of the Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health, and the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues.
The letter gives a detailed analysis of the case of Aysel Tuğluk, a Kurdish politician and human rights lawyer, who is kept in prison despite being severely ill. The letter underlines that:
According to medical reports, statements from Ms. Tuğluk’s visitors and lawyers, and publicly accessible information on the case, Ms. Tuğluk’s health has been rapidly deteriorating since her diagnosis of dementia and she is not healthy enough to survive much longer in the conditions to which she is subject in Kocaeli F-Type Prison.
Ms. Tuğluk’s continued imprisonment despite her serious health issues and her vulnerabilities to both conditions in the prison and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic show a failure of Turkish authorities to adhere to both their own domestic laws and international standards with regard to the treatment of prisoners.
The letter also provides the UN special mandate holders with general information on the systemic problems related to the condition of detention in Turkish prisons which cause serious human rights abuses.
In the light of the foregoing, the organizations request the Special Procedures’ urgent action and invite the mandate holders to call on the Turkish authorities to:
i. immediately release Ayşe Tuğluk and other severely ill prisoners who are not fit to remain in prison in compliance with Turkey’s domestic and international law obligations;
ii. communicate concerns in relation to violation of prisoners’ rights to medical services and to investigate the circumstances behind the refusal to release severely ill prisoners;
iii. ensure that all prisons in Turkey have an adequate number of medical staff, including doctors and that they work freely without any undue interference with their work;
iv. urge the Turkish Authorities to introduce and enforce legal provisions guaranteeing impartial and fair procedures for the medical evaluation of all ill prisoners and the release of seriously ill prisoners on compassionate grounds;
v. ensure the Turkish Government allows greater accountability and transparency of prison living conditions by enabling visits and inspections from human rights groups and nongovernmental entities.
The letter was endorsed by Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project, the United Kingdom; AĞ-DA Toplumsal Cinsiyet Eşitliği Dayanışma Ağı (Gender Equality Solidarity Network), Turkey; Asociación Libre de Abogadas y Abogados, (Free Association of Lawyers, ALA), Madrid, Spain; Batman Barosu (Batman Bar Association), Turkey; Bingöl Barosu (Bingöl Bar Association), Turkey; Conseil national des barreaux (CNB), France; Çağdaş Hukukçular Derneği (Progressive Lawyers’ Association, ÇHD), Turkey; Dersim -Tunceli- Barosu (Dersim -Tunceli- Bar Association), Turkey; Diyarbakır Barosu (Diyarbakır Bar Association), Turkey; Düşünce Suçu(!?)na Karşı Girişim (Initiative for Freedom of Expression), Turkey; Eşit Haklar İçin İzleme Derneği (Association for Monitoring Equal Rights), Turkey; European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH); European Democratic Lawyers (AED); Hak İnisiyatifi Derneği (the Rights Initiative), Turkey; Hakkari Barosu (Hakkari Bar Association), Turkey; Human Rights Committee of the German Bar Association (Deutscher Anwaltverein, DAV), Germany; Indian Association of Lawyers, India; İnsan Hakları Gündemi Derneği (Human Rights Agenda Association), Turkey; International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL); International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI); International Commission of Jurists (ICJ); International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH); International Observatory for Lawyers at Risk (OIAD); Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC), Canada; London Legal Group, the United Kingdom; Mardin Barosu (Mardin Bar Association), Turkey; Medya ve Hukuk Çalışmaları Derneği (Media and Law Studies Association, MLSA), Turkey; Muş Barosu (Muş Bar Association), Turkey; National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL), Philippines; Özgürlük için Hukukçular Derneği (Association of Lawyers for Freedom, ÖHD), Turkey; P24 (Platform for Independent Journalism), Turkey; Republikanischer Anwältinnen - und Anwälteverein e.V. (Republican Lawyers Association, RAV), Germany; Rosa Kadın Derneği (Rosa Women’s Association), Turkey; Siirt Barosu (Siirt Bar Association), Turkey; Syndicat des Avocats pour la Démocratie: le SAD, Belgium; Şanlıurfa Barosu (Şanlıurfa Bar Association), Turkey; Şırnak Barosu (Şırnak Bar Association), Turkey; The Center for Research and Elaboration on Democracy/ Group of International Legal Intervention (CRED/GIGI); The Italian Association of Democratic Lawyers (Giuristi Democratici), Italy; The National Association of Democratic Lawyers, (NADEL), South Africa; Toplum ve Hukuk Araştırmaları Vakfı (Foundation for Society and Legal Studies), Turkey; Turkish-German Forum of Culture, Germany; and Van Barosu (Van Bar Association), Turkey
