ÎDIR - Yaşar Er, the older brother of İbrahim Er, a 30-year prisoner in Patnos Type L Prison, said: “My brother has been living with a platelet in his leg for 28 years. The nerve vessels in his left leg have thinned over time due to the lack of necessary treatment.” 

 

İbrahim Er, who is in Patnos Type L Closed Prison in Agirî (Ağrı), has been struggling to live with a platinum in his left leg for 28 years. Er, who was detained after being wounded during a clash in 1994 in the Başko (Aralık) district of İdir, was sentenced to life imprisonment for “disrupting the unity and integrity of the state” by the Erzurum State Security Court (DGM) after a week of severe torture. 

 

Er, who was not treated, suffered damage to his left hip, which was hit by shrapnel. Er's leg, which was later fitted with a platinum, became shorter and he started to have difficulty walking. The nerve vessels in his leg weakened over time and his foot became thinner, while he also developed chronic bronchitis and shortness of breath.

 

'SUBJECTED TO SEVERE TORTURE'

 

Er's older brother Yaşar Er stated that his brother was arrested 30 years ago after being detained wounded and subjected to severe torture. Reminding that his brother was detained and arrested with a wounded leg, Er said: “He was operated on 2 years after his arrest, in 1996. Since then, he has been living with a platelet in his left leg. Until today, he has not been treated properly and the platinum in his foot has not been removed. For this reason, the veins in his left leg weakened over time and his leg became short. My father also suffered from various illnesses due to my brother's condition. My father had a heart attack on the day he was going to see my brother in 2006 and he passed away longing for his son.” 

 

HIS MOTHER HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO SEE HIM FOR 5 YEARS

 

Yaşar Er, the older brother, said that his brother had been transferred to cities far away from them for a few years after his arrest and added: “My mother is 75 years old, elderly and has many illnesses, especially knee pains, so she has not been able to visit my brother for 5 years. As it is known, we cannot go because economic conditions do not allow us to do so anymore. We have petitioned many times to bring my brother to a closer place, but all of them have been answered negatively. The purpose of taking prisoners to cities far away from their families is to psychologically torture both the prisoner and the family. They want to break the ties between the prisoner and the family. However, no matter what they do, we will not give up our children and our cause.” 

 

'ATK IS NOT NEUTRAL' 

 

Stating that both his brother and they applied to the Forensic Medicine Institution (ATK) many times but their applications remained fruitless, Er said: “ATK is not impartial. The doctors working there cannot act impartially. Hundreds of ill prisoners like my brother are not being treated. They act according to what AKP-MHP say. As long as the AKP and MHP exist, I have no faith and hope that there will be a change. When it comes to Kurds, they do not release them. My brother has had a platinum in his leg for about 30 years. My brother will complete 30 years in December, but we do not know if he will be released. Again in 2019, my uncle Kinyas Gülcan, a sick prisoner, died in Patnos Type L Closed Prison.”

 

'NOT ONLY PROBLEM OF KURDS'

 

Noting that the prison problem is not only a Kurdish problem, Yaşar Er said: “Everyone should do their best to solve the Kurdish issue. Their politics is not recognizing Kurds and separating the people from each other. They leave no living space for those who are not like them. When it comes to Kurds, everyone unites on the opposite front. If they want to solve the Kurdish issue, they should start with prisons. Either we will solve these problems hand in hand or we will all be affected and disappear one by one.”