Ömer Açar, who owns a restaurant some 10 km away from the city center in Hakkari, and his son Azad Açar were arrested in August 2010 on allegations of “aiding a terrorist organization” following clashes that broke out between the police and the HPG guerrillas in the Zap valley. They were imprisoned for nine months, and later released to await trial without remand.

In the ongoing lawsuit, Ömer Açar received a prison sentence of 6 years and three months. He was arrested in Mersin while he was on a business trip two years ago and was placed in the Alanya Type L Prison in Antalya. Açar had had a heart surgery before his arrest, and had a stent put in.

“MY HUSBAND IS SICK AND IS DENIED TREATMENT”

Ömer Açar’s wife Nergiz Açar stated that the prison administration does not allow her husband to receive treatment and continued: “My husband had a stent put in his heart two years ago. Doctors said his heart works at only 40% capacity, and that he must avoid stress.”

“PRESSURE IN THE WARD”

Açar said 35 others stayed in the same ward as her husband and added: “My husband hasn’t even seen a doctor for a full year. His medication is restricted. They took him to a doctor last week for the first time, and he was told his heart now works at 30% capacity. My husband said there is a lot of pressure in the ward. The administration creates many problems. My husband had three attacks to date, and they waited until he woke up in the prison infirmary and took him back to the ward”

“THEY DON’T RETURN THE MONEY WE DEPOSIT”

Açar said her husband was having trouble due to the humid weather in Alanya and that she demanded him to be transferred to a prison in the region. Azad Açar, who was acquitted in 2011 after his father was arrested, said they appealed countless times to the authorities to procure a medical report for his father. Açar said the appeals didn’t result in anything, and most recently they were told to deposit 4.500 Liras to the prison’s bank account so his father could be taken to the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institution and receive treatment. The family deposited the money, but their father was not even taken out of Alanya. Açar said: “We appealed so many times to the authorities for my father’s health issues. But they don’t hear us. They told us to deposit money so my father would be taken to Istanbul and given a report, so we deposited 4.500 Liras. But, unfortunately, my father was not even taken out of Alanya. Our appeal to receive the money back has also been rejected. We want my father’s illness to be seen. We want him to be reported on his medical condition.”