Turkey’s Constitutional Court has ruled that there was no violation of rights in the case of Sevgi Sezer, who has been jailed since February 2018, is suffering from serious health problems and was recently given drugs for cancer, the Bold Medya news website reported.
Sezer is one of the more than 25,000 people who are still in jail due to their alleged links to the Gülen movement.
The Turkish government accuses the Gülen movement of masterminding a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016 and labels it a “terrorist organization,” although the movement strongly denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
Sezer has been held at Giresun Prison in the Black Sea region of Turkey since Feb. 26, 2018. She was diagnosed with a 9×5 centimeter tumor in one of the arteries in her back, suffers from severe pain and has difficulty walking, according to Bold Medya.
When Sezer’s petitions demanding her release from prison due to her medical condition were consistently rejected, she filed an individual application at Turkey’s Constitutional Court on Dec.11, 2019, claiming that her right to life was being violated.
The top court in a ruling on Dec. 20, 2019 announced that there was no rights violation in Sezer’s case, that she has access to medical services and that her incarceration does not pose any risk to her life.
However, Sezer, who was taken to the Samsun Medical Faculty Hospital last Thursday because she was suffering severe pain and was given drugs that are normally given to cancer patients to alleviate their suffering.
The doctors at the hospital reportedly said she has to undergo a risky operation for removal of the tumor and that there is nothing more they can do.
In the meantime, Sezer’s sister Özge Sezer said her sister’s lawyer will take her case to the European Court of Human Rights, adding that the top court’s ruling was disappointing.
Following the coup attempt, the Turkish government launched a massive crackdown on followers of the Gülen movement under the pretext of an anti-coup fight as a result of which more than 130,000 people were removed from state jobs while in excess of 25,000 others are still in jail and some 600,000 people have been investigated on allegations of terrorism.
The jailed include ailing individuals and pregnant women or women who have recently given birth although Turkish laws call for the postponement of imprisonment in such cases.