Mehmet Elçe (60) was detained and arrested in Silopi 5 days after the attack on the Police Department building in the Cizre district of Sirnak on 26 August 2016. In the attack, 12 police officers lost their lives. Elçe was sentenced to 12 times aggravated life imprisonment and 2,500 years in prison. Elçe, whose sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court, was not released despite suffering from cancer. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer after her arrest, and was transferred to Antep (Dîlok) in 2022.

Ersin Aslan Training and Research Hospital wrote in his report that Elçe "cannot stay in prison". However, the man was not released despite and continues to be held in Antep H Type Closed Prison.

Lawyer Yusuf Kartal, a member of the Lawyers' Association for Freedom (ÖHD) Antep Branch Prison Commission, visited Elçe in prison and said that the man was chosen as the "scapegoat" for the incident. Kartal noted that despite the lack of any evidence, Elçe was given 12 aggravated life sentences and 2,500 years in prison.

Kartal said: "After he was diagnosed with cancer, the lawyers kept requesting his release. However, the Supreme Court upheld the sentence, and so did the Court of Cassation, despite all the evidence and medical reports saying that he should have been released."

'Enemy law applied to Kurds'

Kartal added: "The law applied to Kurds is the law of the enemy. In the case of Mehmet Elçe, innocent people living in that region were chosen as the scapegoat for the explosion. The legal system has not been operated fairly. Unfortunately, we have seen this happening many times."