Political prisoner Yusuf Bor lost his sight during his incarceration in the Van (Wan) T-type prison in Turkey. He had no problem with his eyes before he was arrested and he was not provided with proper treatment when his eyesight deteriorated.
“I was not released despite the Forensic Medicine Report”, said Bor about the time he spent in prison. “I even requested a temporary release for treatment purposes only. They did not accept this either. If I lost both eyes today, those responsible are the prison administration and the Van Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office”.
The only treatment option is stem cell therapy, but this is very expensive. Therefore he is asking for public support to fund his treatment.
According to the Human Rights Association’s latest data there are about 280,000 people currently in prisons in Turkey. However the capacity of prisons of Turkey is 220,000 and overcrowding is one of the biggest problems. Among those 280,000 prisoners, there are 1,334 sick prisoners, 457 of whom are severely ill. From the beginning of 2017 to the end of 2019, 44 prisoners lost their lives through lack of adequate medical treatment.
