Turkey – PŞTA: Ali Gülmez Should be Brought to a Hospital Immediately!
We hereby share an unofficial translation of a statement shared by Yeni Demokrasi on the severe health situation faced by a Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist (TKP/ML) prisoner, Ali Gülmez. The statement has been issued by Partizan Martyrs and Prisoners Families (PŞTA).
Let’s Stop the Caged Shuttle Imposition!
Prisoner Ali Gülmez Should Be Taken to Hospital Immediately!
Human rights violations in İzmir Kırıklar No. 1 F-Type Prison continue, as in many other prisons.
Hospital transfers, as part of the right to treatment, are being denied for various reasons. Political prisoners have long been brought back to prison without treatment due to doctors with reactionary or hostile attitudes in hospitals, or soldiers directing the doctors, imposing handcuffed examinations on them. Recently, political prisoners have been prevented from exercising their right to treatment due to the imposition of “caged shuttle vehicles” and “handcuffed examinations.”
Ali Gülmez, a prisoner of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP/ML) with an aggravated life sentence, is being denied hospitalization for his health problems and a hernia surgery, due to the insistence on using caged shuttle vehicles. Although political prisoners have stated that they reject caged shuttle vehicles due to their inherent dangers and inhumane nature, the prison administration and other authorized bodies insist on using them.
Caged shuttle vehicles are intended to prevent prisoners from communicating. To disrupt communication, they are forced into cramped spaces alone, exposing them to far greater consequences in the event of an accident. The intense pressure placed on prisoners is recklessly amplified by this practice of caged shuttle vehicles. Almost all the humane qualities inherent in prison conditions are the result of the conscious and organized actions of political prisoners. Prison administrations, however, have persistently sought to eliminate these qualities. Political prisoners demand that their transfers to hospitals be carried out under humane conditions and as free from danger as possible. Caged shuttle vehicles are therefore extremely risky. Their use should be discontinued, and this practice, which hinders the treatment of political prisoners, should be abolished. We call on all revolutionary and democratic circles to support the demands of political prisoners for improved living conditions and the removal of obstacles to their fundamental rights, such as access to healthcare, and to intensify the struggle for this cause. We know that conditions outside prison are not independent of those within them. It is a humanitarian necessity, even an obligation, to support these demands of political prisoners, who, with revolutionary awareness and organization, have transformed difficult conditions into arenas of struggle.
To ensure that political prisoners receive prompt treatment and their right to treatment is fulfilled, they demand that hospital transfers stops the use of caged shuttle vehicles. They demand that the administration immediately abandon this practice and ensure that hospital transfers are carried out as quickly as possible. We stand with their justified demand. We urge you to disseminate, support, and act to ensure this justified demand is realized.
