JINHA

ISTANBUL – Kurdish prisoner FatmaTokmak, currently held in an Istanbul jail despite the fact that her heart valves are failing, is currently waiting for emergency heart surgery.


FatmaTokmak was first imprisoned during a house raid on a house where she was a guest during Northern Kurdistan's violent 1990s. The main evidence against her is a statement in Turkish that she signed after torture and was unable to read, as she only speaks Kurdish. Fatma developed severe heart problems in prison, likely related to the stress of being tortured along with her son, who was a small child at the time. Doctors repeatedly issued reports saying that continued imprisonment and lack of treatment for her deteriorating health problems was a death sentence for Fatma, but the Turkish prison system has continued to deny her permission for medical treatment.

FatmaTokmak, whose condition has sharply deteriorated in recent weeks, is now scheduled for emergency heart surgery on Thursday. Doctors at the Mehmet AkifErsoy hospital, where Fatma has been treated whenever the prison has given permission, say that Fatma is facing a 90% risk of death.

Fatma's son Azad Tokmak received the news yesterday evening. Early this morning, he went to the courthouse to request permission to see his mother, but the prosecutor was out of the office and Azad has so far been denied permission to see her. He and his lawyers will be waiting outside the prison to see her.

(dk/fk/cm)