 |
Üskül discusses terminally ill inmate with ATK official
“My personal conviction is that inmates whose lives are at risk or under threat should not be kept in prison. Zere's treatment continues in the medical faculty of Çukurova University. But we wonder what will happen to her in the coming days,” Üskül told reporters.
Zere has been imprisoned for 14 years for being a member of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C). She was diagnosed with cancer in her mouth and neck. Human rights groups defending Zere, 37, appealed to the president, stating that she should be released because of her life-threatening condition.
Recalling that a medical report completed at Çukurova University concerning the inmate advised that she should be released from prison, Üskül noted that the report has not yet been approved by the ATK.
“Under normal conditions, she should be released from prison after her treatment at the university. But the approval of the ATK is necessary. Without such approval, she will be sent back to jail. It is apparent that prison conditions will not allow her to continue the treatment process. The ATK will convene on Aug. 27 to discuss Zere's situation,” Üskül remarked.
Üskül underlined that the main duty of the state is to keep its citizens alive. “The decision will be made by relavent bodies in accordance with the law. No one can have a say concerning it. But I believe it would be right to relax the rules if a person's life is at risk. I hope the ATK will decide to release Zere on Aug. 27,” he added.
 Protestors demanding the release of Güler Zere, a prison inmate suffering from a form of mouth cancer, demonstrated in front of the Council of Forensic Medicine building yesterday. |
The ATK has frequently been in the spotlight over controversial reports it has prepared. In a recent scandal, the council was accused of tampering with evidence in the case of Münevver Karabulut, who was brutally killed and decapitated, allegedly by her boyfriend, Cem Garipoğlu, who is still at large and the prime suspect in the case.
A report prepared by the ATK allowed former Vakit columnist Hüseyin Üzmez, arrested in the spring of 2008 on charges of repeated sexual abuse of a minor, to be released from jail last year pending trial. The report indicated that the “physical and mental health” of the minor involved was stable. Forensic experts criticized the medical report as unconvincing. In a later report, this mistake was corrected, and Üzmez has been re-incarcerated. However, the council's reputation in the public eye was greatly damaged by the incident.
Üskül also said he had a meeting with İstanbul Police Chief Hüseyin Çapkın about the mystery surrounding the murder of Karabulut.
“Çapkın told me that every measure was being taken to capture the suspect. Police are continuing their investigation. They are searching for the suspect both in the country and abroad,” he noted.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BERİL DEDEOĞLU |  |
||
| Yemen and beyond | |||
| ABDULLAH BOZKURT |  |
||
| Turkey and Mexico: Distant yet so close | |||
| ABDÜLHAMİT BİLİCİ |  |
||
| Google kidnaps Gül! | |||
| İHSAN YILMAZ |  |
||
| The Egyptian elections, Islam and Islamists | |||
| MARKAR ESAYAN |  |
||
| There is need for a new initiative | |||
| EMRE USLU |  |
||
| Operational errors | |||
| HASAN KANBOLAT |  |
||
| Are Russian tourists being discouraged from visiting Turkey? | |||
| CHARLOTTE MCPHERSON |  |
||
| The modern ‘Great Game’: women’s role and status | |||
| KLAUS JURGENS |  |
||
| Back to the ’80s | |||
| KATHY HAMILTON |  |
||
| Random acts of violence | |||
| MERVE BÜŞRA ÖZTÜRK |  |
||
| Adding insult to injury in Uludere | |||
| NICOLE POPE |  |
||
| Shifting responsibility | |||
| YAVUZ BAYDAR |  |
||
| ‘Errorism’ | |||
| ORHAN MİROĞLU |  |
||
| ‘Strategic vision’ | |||
| ORHAN KEMAL CENGİZ |  |
||
| Turkey through Amnesty International’s eyes | |||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
