Prosecutor imposes forced remorse on prisoner: Release delayed for a year

2025-08-08 09:20:19


	 

	MÊRDÎN – Mehmet İsa Aydoğan’s release has been postponed for the third time after he refused to accept imposed remorse. The prosecutor threatened Aydoğan by saying, “I won’t let you go easily.”

	 

	Aydoğan, who was detained in Êlih (Batman) in 2016 on charges of “being a member of an organization” and imprisoned, had completed his 10-year sentence and was expected to be released in February 2024. However, Osmaniye T-Type Closed Prison’s Observation Board previously delayed his release for six months, citing his alleged lack of remorse. After a subsequent review, the board extended the delay for another year.

	 

	‘I WON’T REPENT BECAUSE I STAND FOR MY CAUSE’

	 

	Aydoğan informed his family by phone that his release was postponed again. During the board hearing, before the meeting even started, the prison prosecutor questioned him: “Have you learned your lesson? Are you remorseful?” Aydoğan responded that there was no reason for remorse as he was imprisoned for his beliefs. The prosecutor then said, “I won’t let you go easily.”

	 

	Aydoğan referred to Kurdish Leader Abdullah Öcalan’s “Call for Peace and Democratic Society” and stressed the importance of the ongoing peace process, but the prosecutor replied, “We don’t know about any such process.”

	 

	‘I KEEP WAITING EVERY TIME THEY SAY RELEASE IS NEAR’

	 

	Aydoğan’s mother, Zekiye Aydoğan, expressed frustration over her son’s continued detention: “I haven’t been able to visit him for three years due to my illness. I keep waiting for his release, but they don’t let him go. Why such cruelty? He has served his sentence. We want peace and we want our children back.”

	 

	ABOUT MEHMET İSA AYDOĞAN

	 

	Aydoğan, aged 40, was detained in June 2016 in the Hezo (Kozluk) district of Êlih after being tortured during arrest. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of “being a member of an organization” by Batman Heavy Penal Court. He served time in prisons in Batman, Siverek, and Osmaniye. His release has been delayed twice before due to claims that he has not shown remorse.

	 

	MA / Ahmet Kanbal