Some joined the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) shortly after they were released from prison, and others were killed in armed conflicts with security forces in the mountains. Sezer's biased and pitiful decisions, which offered extreme compassion to members of illegal leftist organizations, led to intense public debate and made him subject to accusations that he was “pardoning terrorists.” Sezer's interest in offering amnesty to terrorists was very obvious, especially due to the large number of prisoners that were offered amnesty. Former presidents Kenan Evren and Süleyman Demirel, who both served seven years as president, granted amnesty to 27 and 100 prisoners, respectively. Former President Turgut Özal only pardoned 21 prisoners during his four-year tenure. So far the stingiest president on amnesty has been Abdullah Gül.
But again is there no middle ground in this? No one expects Gül to act like his predecessor and pardon prisoners that are likely to return to the mountains, create traps for security forces and kill our soldiers. But don't we need to pardon prisoners who are struggling to stay alive regardless of the crime they committed?
The recent death of a prisoner in an Erzurum prison should be a warning for the justice minister, Parliament and the president. İsmet Ablak, a prisoner who served time in an Erzurum prison for 15 years, was kept in custody as he struggled to overcome gastric cancer. He was deprived of family support and the proper treatment atmosphere and spent the last days of his life in pain until he passed away a few days ago.
There is another prisoner who like Ablak is struggling to stay a live due to her illness. Her story is deplorable and heartbreaking. I don't know what crimes she committed as a member of a leftist organization when she was free and healthy, but even if she was a murderer who engaged in illegal activities, it does not matter at this point. Besides, from what I understand the person in question does not seem like that kind of person anyway. She was sentenced to 34 years in prison for membership to an illegal organization and participation in illegal activities in 1995 by the now defunct State Security Court (DGM), which was abolished within the scope of the European Union accession process for not being fair enough. Her name is Güler Zere. She is a stage-four cancer patient.
Although the department of forensic medicine at Çukurova University's school of medicine said conditions in the hospital's prisoner ward were not appropriate for Zere, who is serving her time at Elbistan Prison, the Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK), which has lately come into the spotlight for undersigning scandalous decisions, released a report stating the prisoner would be able to undergo treatment at the hospital.
What's odd is the signature on Zere's medical report belongs to Dr. Nur Birgen, who was previously temporarily barred from practice for writing false reports and concealing evidence of torture. Zere's lawyers have filed a criminal complaint against the institution for a “deliberate attempt at murder.”
According to the report released by Çukurova University's department of forensic medicine on July 2, the hospital's prisoner ward posed a risk to Zere's treatment. “Good care and support are as important as treatment [radiotherapy, chemotherapy] in these kinds of cases. Therefore, the patient needs the care and support of family and friends. The desire and effort to want to live is important for successful treatment. Since the places assigned to prisoners in health institutions will have a negative impact on the patient's treatment, conditions at the hospital's prisoner ward pose a risk to the prisoner's life,” it said.
On July 17 the Contemporary Jurists Association (ÇHD) filed a criminal complaint stating the medical report, which was based on an approximately five-minute examination, deprived Zere of treatment opportunities by confining her to the hospital's prisoner ward and argued this was attempted murder.
Prison prosecutors have the authority to grant clemency to terminally ill prisoners provided a report is issued by the ATK, or by a general hospital and approved by the ATK, stating the severity of the prisoner's illness. The president also has the authority to grant amnesty to these kinds of prisoners. But for some reason, no one is moving a muscle for Zere, who is being kept at the Çukurova University's Balcalı Research Hospital, where she is wretchedly waiting for her death.
There are claims that many prisoners are in the same situation around the country. The Human Rights Association (İHD) announced that six prisoners -- Mehmet Elçi, Gurbet Mete, Hasan Kert, Beşir Özer, Recep Çelik and Ablak -- have died due to the same reason (poor treatment) in the last six months, and the İHD has demanded equal treatment for all prisoners. The İHD is right. Who can claim that prisoners are treated equally in Turkey after observing all that has transpired during the Ergenekon investigation?
In a country where senior military personnel such as Şener Eruygur and Hurşit Tolon and important civilian Ergenekon suspects such as Ferit İlsever, Erol Manisalı and Mustafa Yurtkuran are released from custody for health reasons, there is nothing fair about sitting around and waiting for the death of some prisoners.
I truly cannot understand why the same compassion and mercy that is shown toward Ergenekon suspects who had plans to turn Turkey upside down is not being shown to Zere.
There must be something President Gül can do, or at least say, on this matter.
