Socialist Women’s Assembly (SKM) members called on authorities to release Hediye Aksoy from prison immediately so she can attend medical treatment for cancer. She is also visually impaired.

SKM members drew attention to Aksoy’s condition in a demonstration in front of Galatasaray High School in central Ýstanbul. They carried pictures of Aksoy and chanted slogans such as, “Give Hediye Aksoy medical treatment,” “Release all ill prisoners” and “Long live women’s solidarity.”

SKM member, Tuba Gümüþ explained that, despite a February 18 report from the Samatya Training and Research Hospital stating that Aksoy “can’t survive on her own,” she is still being held in prison.

“We don’t want Aksoy to experience the bureaucratic obstacles that other terminally ill prisoners dealt with,” said Gümüþ. She also explained that there are over 226 ill prisoners, including 112 seriously ill, in prisons in Turkey and that they need to be released in order to continue their medical treatment.

According to Article 16 of the Penal Law, it is necessary to release Aksoy from prison, explained Gümüþ. “She must be released from prison immediately to protect her right to live. The Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior and the Institution of Forensic Medicine are all responsible for every ill prisoner.”