In a press statement held at the Human Rights Association (IHD) in Izmir, Şükriye Yanık emphasized her husband Enver Yanık’s serious health problems and demanded his release and a fair trial.

She explained that her husband was first arrested in 2005, released in 2010, and then re-arrested on October 7, 2024.

Şükriye Yanık explained that her husband, Enver Yanık, was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment plus an additional 22 years and 6 months, based solely on the statements of a single witness. The witness had merely said, “I heard” and “he said our friends did it.” She emphasized that there was no other concrete evidence in the case file.

Şükriye Yanık stated that Enver Yanık survived the 1996 Death Fast resistance and, as a result of that period, developed Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. She explained that he has been suffering from severe memory loss, and that he personally witnessed the Ulucanlar Prison Massacre and the December 19 Prison Massacre. Following these events, he was forced to live with hydrocephalus, physical impairments, and permanent damage.

Şükriye Yanık emphasized that her husband's health has deteriorated further under prison conditions. She said, “In the first weeks after his arrest, he fainted and had to be hospitalized. His blood sugar and blood pressure spiked, and most recently, he developed heart problems.”

Şükriye Yanık called for the immediate release of Enver Yanık and demanded that he be given a fair trial. She stated that someone who has not left the country in 20 years does not pose a flight risk.

She concluded her statement with a call: “Freedom for ill prisoners, freedom for Enver Yanık.”