Ill-treatment against Arslan brothers who were arrested after being detained on October 18, 2018 in Ziyareta Mezin rural neighbourhood of Pirsûs (Suruç) district of Riha (Urfa), continues in prison. Brothers Fevzi (55), Ömer (36), Mehmet Haşim (46) and Mehmet Kasım Arslan (32) and their relative Khlel Khlel (30) were detained on the allegation of "assassination" intelligence against former AKP MP İbrahim Halil Yıldız. 5 people were kept at the Security Directorate for 15 days and were forced to sign statements prepared by the police. 5 people were arrested by the court after 15 days, although the report prepared by the Forensic Medicine Institution (ATK) on 31 October 2019 reflected the severe torture inflicted on 5 people.

 

The indictment prepared for 5 people in Urfa Type T Prison No 2 does not include the allegation of "assassination" which was used as a reason for detention, while many incidents that took place in the city on different dates are included in the indictment. The court sentenced Fevzi and Mehmet Kasım Arslan and Khlel Khlel to 3 times aggravated life imprisonment on the charges of "disrupting the unity and integrity of the state, intentional killing by design" based on the statements taken under torture. Ömer and Mehmet Haşim brothers were sentenced to 28 years each for "unauthorised possession of dangerous substances", "attempted deliberate murder", "damaging public property and purchasing bullets for unlicensed weapons".

 

The 18th Chamber of Antep Regional Court of Appeals upheld the verdict on 19 February 2020. The Court of Cassation also upheld the verdict on 17 January 2024. The lawyers then applied to the Constitutional Court (AYM). While the file is still pending at the Constitutional Court, 5 people were put in solitary confinement upon the approval of the sentences.

 

The grievances of the Arslan brothers and their relative Khlel Khlel, who moved with them from North and East Syria, continued after their arrest. First Mehmet Kasım Arslan, one of the 5 people kept in Urfa Type T Prison No 2, was transferred to Diyarbakır High Security Prison No 1 on 17 December 2020. Then their relative Khlel Khlel was transferred to Rize Kalkandere Prison on 29 August 2021. Brothers Fevzi, Ömer and Mehmet Haşim were transferred to Adana Suluca Type Y Closed Prison in June 2024. Having prisoners in 3 different cities, the family has difficulties in travelling to visits.

 

CANNOT GO TO SEE THEIR CHILDREN

 

Mehmet Arslan (84), who stated that his children and nephews were arrested with conspiracies and that he could not meet his children and nephews due to health problems, said: "They were arrested with torture without any evidence. We are victims."

 

Mehmet Arslan stated that his son Fevzi Arslan, who is on Human Rights Association's (IHD) list of seriously ill prisoners, was diagnosed with "brain melting" due to torture he was subjected to during his detention on 6 June 2024 in the hospital where he went with the complaint of "headache". Stating that his son was not treated after the diagnosis,  "They don't take him to the hospital, they don't treat him. If they give him proper treatment, maybe he will recover, but they do not treat him. As they do not do this, they send him to cities far away from us. My health does not allow me to go and see, and even if our other family members want to go, our economic situation is not suitable for this," Mehmet Arslan said.

 

'LET US TREAT HIM'

 

Mehmet Arslan stated that his son Fevzi Arslan, who was given 2 years to live by the doctors, was not released despite all the calls, and that his other son Ömer Arslan, who is imprisoned in the same prison, has an undetected disease and is in life-threatening danger. "When he calls us, he says, 'My head hurts so badly, my tongue is swollen and I vomit all the time. I can't stand on my feet, they take me to the emergency room, but they keep me waiting in a corner without examining me. I am living my last days,' he says. Let us treat him with our own means. The doctors do not want to treat Ömer. They threw the blood cubes he took for analyses into the rubbish bin. Doctors say degrading words," he said. 

 

'WE WANT JUSTICE'

 

Mehmet Arslan emphasised that both of his sons are very ill due to the torture they were subjected to and that there is a risk to their lives, and said: "Since the day they were tortured, their health problems continue. I cannot go to see my children. My children have families and we have difficulty taking care of them. My grandchildren go to school, but we cannot put an allowance in their pockets. Let the authorities hear our voices. My children did not even hurt an ant. We want justice. I cannot sleep at night because of my children. We want justice."

 

Mehmet Arslan called on the Human Rights Association (IHD), Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD) and MPs to visit the prison and identify the problems of the prisoners on site and take action to solve the problems.

 

MA / Emrullah Acar