Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Muş deputy Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit stated that 82-year-old prisoner Mehmet Emin Özkan, who has been in Diyarbakır D-Type prison for 24 years, is seriously ill.

His health condition has seriously deteriorated, she noted. Koçyiğit appealed to the Parliament Human Rights Inquiry Commission to halt Özkan’s sentence, noting that Özkan had lost his hearing and could no longer walk or speak due to the severe pain he was experiencing.

She urged the commission to act quickly, noting that another 75-year-old prisoner, Takiyettin Özkahraman, had died recently after his application to be released had been rejected.

According to the Human Rights Association, there are 1,333 sick prisoners in Turkey. It reports that 457 of them are severely ill and most of them are political prisoners.