Human Rights
in Turkey
Critically Ill Prisoners in Turkish Prisons: Süleyman Yıldırım

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VICTIM :  Süleyman Yıldırım
INCIDENT : The sick prisoner’s leg will be amputated due to delays in treatment caused by the prison administration.
LOCATION : Denizli, Turkey
SITUATION : Sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison on alleged affiliation with the Gülen movement.

Case Summary

The health condition of lawyer Süleyman Yıldırım, held in Denizli Type T Closed Prison, has reached a critical stage due to negligence and delays in both prison conditions and hospital procedures. On July 27, 2025, Yıldırım was taken into custody while receiving treatment at Acıpayam State Hospital and was later transferred to Denizli Type T Closed Prison. Despite being held there for nearly two months, he was not provided with the necessary medical care. According to his family, when Yıldırım first showed severe symptoms, he was not referred to a hospital in time. Later, during examinations at healthcare institutions, vascular blockage was diagnosed, yet the prison administration sent him back to his ward instead of initiating treatment. The failure to begin the required medical process caused his condition to deteriorate further. As his health worsened rapidly, Yıldırım was taken to the intensive care unit of Denizli State Hospital on September 6. With a history of heart surgery, he is also under suspicion of having lung cancer. He has remained in intensive care for about twenty days, and his family filed for a postponement of his sentence to allow for treatment. However, despite reports from Denizli State Hospital doctors stating that he was “unfit for prison and unable to travel,” the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institute insisted on summoning him to Istanbul in person. Most recently, doctors determined that Yıldırım’s left leg must be amputated below the knee, emphasizing that if his treatment had begun earlier, this situation could have been avoided. His family stresses that Yıldırım’s life is in danger due to the negligence of the prison administration and is urgently calling for his immediate release.

Souce

Contact

Denizli Type T Closed Penal Institution

Phone: 0258 814 52 60

Mail: –

General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Houses

Phone: (0312) 507 04 00 – (0312) 507 04 01

Mail: cte@adalet.gov.tr 

Ministry of Justice – Republic of Türkiye

Phone: +90 (0312) 417 77 70

Mail: info@adalet.gov.tr

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