The 30th hearing of the retrial case of 84-year-old seriously ill prisoner Mehmet Emin Özkan, who was associated with the murder of Turkish Brigadier General Bahtiyar Aydın in 1993 in the Lice district of Amed, was held at the Adana 7th High Criminal Court.

Özkan could not attend the hearing due to a problem with the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS) from Diyarbakır No. 1 High Security Closed Prison, where he is detained.

Özkan's son Ahmet Özkan, lawyers of the Human Rights Association (IHD) Adana Branch Yasemin Dora Şeker, Yakup Ataş, Cahit Atak and Tugay Bek attended the hearing.

The prosecutor demanded that Özkan remain in prison.

Yasemin Dora Şeker, one of the lawyers, said: "It has been proven that there is no definitive and convincing evidence, concrete information and finding that the defendant took part in the incident, and we believe that a verdict of acquittal should be pronounced, since this re-trial has been completed."

Lawyer Şeker said that the Diyarbakır Gazi Yaşargil Training and Research Hospital's report dated 8 March 2023, underlined that "Özkan’s life is in danger " and that his sentence should be suspended.

The lawyer said that "Özkan, who was old when he first entered the prison, has aged even more in the past 26 years also because he is kept in prison and does not receive the necessary treatment, as confirmed by the doctor's reports. And this poses a real threat to his life. Because he is now in further need of care, struggling with chronic diseases, breathing difficulties. He is bedridden, experiencing multiple organ failure, unable to walk, speak, and often loses his memory. Moreover, there is no indication that our client poses a threat to 'public order and public security' if he were to be released."