Eşref Kaya, who has been in prison for 10 years accused of "being a member and making propaganda for an illegal organisation" for joining a press release in Istanbul in 2011, is not being released because of a disciplinary action he has been imposed.

As a result of the petitions submitted by his lawyer to the Ministry of Justice, it was established that Kaya had indeed being punished with a disciplinary action. The 1st Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court has not released Kaya for 8 months because there is a 'waiting list', something Kaya's lawyer, Ayşe Acinikli, said it is an arbitrary practice.

Acinikli, who said that their petitions have not been finalized for years, said: "They accepted one of three different isolation penalties. He was punished for damaging property, he was acquitted in the case filed in the same lawsuit. In fact, it was proved that he did not do it, but they still imposed a disciplinary action and sent him on isolation."

Kaya should have been released on 28 August 2019

The lawyer added: "I have been filing petitions against these disciplinary penalties for a year and a half. They asked for the files of the penalty they accepted. The Ministry of Justice asked the Supreme Court of Appeals Prosecutor's Office to prepare an indictment for the corruption of the file. The file is currently pending at the 1st Criminal Division of the Supreme Court.

They said that the outcome would take up to fifteen days. We cannot go beyond here. Eşref was supposed to be released on 28 August 2019. But we have now been waiting for 8 months for the 1st Criminal Court of the Supreme Court to finally sign the file. He has been in prison for 10 years. He cannot come out due to disciplinary penalties. The Ministry of Justice also accepted that the disciplinary punishments given were wrong."

Family worried because of coronavirus outbreak

Eşref Kaya's brother, Şeref, underlined that they are worried about his brother's health. Reminding that his brother has been away from his family and children for 10 years, he said: "He was already unjustly arrested and now he is unjustly punished. My brother had been undergoing tuberculosis treatment before he was arrested. He belongs to the group of people who are most in danger should he contract the coronavirus. We want him to be released as soon as possible, but all our applications have been in vain."