Muzaffer Cengiz, who lost his life alone in the cell, penned his “dragging death” in a four-page petition. We publish the letter from its original.
SEVİNÇ ÖZARSLAN
BOLD- Education of Religion & Ethics teacher Mr. Muzaffer Cengiz, 58, died of a heart attack in a cell in Corum Prison – Cell No. 3 where he had been forced to stay for one year. Özcengiz, who was dragged death, just like Halime Gulsu, wrote a 4-page petition to the Enforcement Officer of Corum.
Özcengiz was arrested under the witch-hunt against Gulen Movement for being mentioned in a deposition. He remarked in his petition the details by giving date that he has been imprisoned for two years since 28 February 2018, has been placed in the cell unquestioningly and without asking why or what for, explained his health status, his illnesses, his doctor’s statements and since he cannot maintain his needs alone, he requested to be transferred to the regular ward.
He was sentenced to solitary confinement for 12 years and 6 months and his file was in the Supreme Court. Özcengiz’s petition proves step by step how he was sent to death. A human rights defender Mr. Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, Kocaeli Deputy of HDP, announced that Özcengiz’s death is not a normal death, but a murder.
Muzaffer Özcengiz’s wife H. Özcengiz asked “Is humanity so cheap, don’t we have any value? What we have done to deserve it”.
Seeing the prison psychiatrist last on April 5, 2019, he tried to explain his concern regarding his sickness to the administration with his kindness. We are publishing Özcengiz’s petition as a record for the future.
I WAS GIVEN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT UNQUESTIONINGLY
I am 58 years old. When I was teaching in Izmir, I was expelled from my post first. Subsequently, I was arrested and placed in Çorum Closed Prison. I’ve been here for 2 years…
One year after staying in the regular wards, on February 28, 2018, I was sent unquestionably to a single-cell-room although there was not any crime-punishment-reason or cause.
A few days after I was put in the cell, I was interviewed in exchange for my request with the prison-doctor and as a result of the evaluation of my chronic health problems, both myself and the prison director were warned by the prison-doctor that I shall not be put into the cell as a single person, rather I need to continue to stay in the regular ward, yet our prison doctor’s statements have not changed our director’s mind for my negative health conditions.
I am under treatment for hypertension, thyroid, sugar, prostate, waist & neck hernia, severe hearing loss, and due to severe deterioration of my psychology in last year, I see psychiatric treatment as well.
On Friday, April 5 (the date can be crosschecked with the concerned authority as the prison-psychiatry doctor comes once a month, if I am wrong) I was taken to the prison-psychiatric doctor and both my personal and family “causes” that I encountered for more than a year were evaluated.
He suggested me going on with the medication without any delay, visiting him every month assuredly, and finally, I was informed that due to both my health and psychological problems, I must be taken from the single-room cell to regular ward.
MY ILLNESSES AND MEDICATIONS BECAME 4 WHILE IT WAS 1
17 days have passed, today 22 April 2019. There has not been any improvement in my situation yet.
On 29-11-2017, although the Cankiri Assize Court sent a letter to Corum Prison Authority to determine and report whether I had committed any terrorist activity, advertisement, action or propaganda, a letter in response to this request signed by Mr. Mustafa YAŞAR, the Director of Prison, and sent on 24-01-2018 that “as a result of all the investigations, reconnoiter and research about him, the person in question, the said actions or involvements were not found” . I’m being put in a cell a month after this reply.
Although there was not any violation, as a result of my review of the prison administration, towards the prison or ward, and also no the general security breaching, I am unable to understand why I am in such a situation, as “innocent, without any reason, without any court verdict, without asking why or what for, under what legislation”.
* Cell conditions are applied in my environment even though they are not called it as “cell”. We have only 1 hour in 24 hours for walking around to exercise and socializing in the yard and in case of overlap with the appointments with lawyers, doctors, etc. during the viewing hours, the right to walk around in the yard is not given.
*I cannot participate in any social activity, even though we have repeatedly applied.
* Same problem for the opportunity of getting to the field to play football. Even once a week, I shall be allowed for the astroturf.
* Since there is no kitchen section in the cell, cooking, dishwashing and cleaning works are done in the wash basin in the toilet.
* I have claustrophobia, I’m worried about being hurt, bored, hurting myself.
* I had chronic health problems before coming to the prison and I was undergoing periodic examinations and treatments. After I was brought here, my diseases and the drugs I used increased from 1 to 4.
* Due to the general intensity of the prison, they do not take me to the prison doctor even though it is compulsory. In particular, the referral to the hospital does not take place after months. That’s why I’m getting worse every day.
I NEED OTHER’S ASSISTANCE TO MAINTAIN MY LIFE
* I am unable to get my medication supply regularly even though weeks or months pass.
* Some canteen supplies are provided to normal wards while we don’t get, in spite of failing to provide any reason. I have examples. Although the Prison Director said “okay no problem, you can give”, it has been 5 months not get any.
* We are unable to get benefited to use TV, internet, computer environment.
* While staying in normal multi-person wards, my friends in the ward were helping me due to my chronic diseases, like dizziness, loss of balance, blood pressure, etc., for the joint duties, such as cooking, dishwashing or cleaning, and I could solve my problems with their help. However, I cannot bring all my jobs alone in the cell, like cooking, cleaning, dishwashing, etc., as a result of my health problems. I need the help of others to maintain my life, day and night.
* I demand to know that my right to live should not be taken away from me, contrary to this requires both legal and conscientious responsibility, inasmuch as my chronic health problems quadrupled, while I have been having psychiatric problems, depression for more than a year as I have never encountered such problems for 58 years of my life. In spite of all my applications of written or verbally on this subject and also justified my valid reasons, in which law it is written to ignore. On March 28, 2019, I had a serious stomach disease and spasm. 6 days after my request to the prison physician examination was answered, only 6 days later. I can’t breathe, I can’t move, I can’t stand.
On April 2, our prison doctor when he saw my situation said immediately “nothing to be done here to this patient” and called for an ambulance to be taken to the emergency department of the Corum State Hospital.
I WAS TAKEN TO THE EMERGENCY. DOCTORS SAID WHY ARE YOU LATE
I was taken to the emergency room with an ambulance that day. As a result of my examination, my blood was taken sent back to prison even though we were told that I have to visit an infectious diseases specialist.
I was taken on April 3, 2019, to the infectious diseases department. As a result of the basic examinations and tests, my blood was diagnosed with a microbe.
Seeing my distraught situation, I have faced the questions from both the emergency and infectious diseases department doctors as “ why have you been so late, why you’ve been waiting until now”. These are what I experienced because of the intensity of prison conditions.
I cannot sustain my life alone because of all my chronic all these health problems and psychiatric diseases. I need help from other people day and night.
My living conditions are getting worse every day (some of them highlighted here) and my situation is worse.
I am demanding not to be taken my right to life from my hands, to be taken to the multi-ward for improvement for the sake of humanity.
I request you to consider my letter.
HIS WIFE H. OZCENGIZ: DON’T WE HAVE ANY VALUE, WHAT DID WE TO DESERVE THIS!
Friday morning, April 26, 2019, we got the news at 10.00 about his death. He was buried on April 27, 2019, late afternoon. A psychologist gentleman called and said, “Your husband got sick. We sent him in an ambulance to Hitit University Hospital. Call the hospital”. We called, and they kept transferring the line from a number to another. Then later they said my son “Your father died, we put him in the morgue.”
EKG (electrocardiogram) SHOULD BE taken and KEPT UNDER OBSERVATION FOR AT 24 HOURS IN THE HOSPITAL
We gave him his soup, they just said he didn’t appear in the count. He just went holding his heart. He’s been no good for the last month. At the last visit, his condition was bad, he was extremely weak, he had collapsed. He was in a lot of trouble due to his diseases.
We visited him on April 4th. In our next conversation, -we had a phone call every Tuesday at 11.00 am- he said “I’m having trouble with my stomach. They took me to the doctor. They’ve been doing the tests. Please login my e-government (online government portal) and show the test result to a doctor” I could only show a doctor whom we knew each other.
He said the values were very high. This is already a precursor to the heart attack. Normally he needed to have an ECG and be kept in hospital for 24 hours for observation. But my husband never told me that he was staying in the hospital.
He’s been in the cell since last year. It was very difficult. He was an extremely high blood pressure patient. The same disease happened to my sister-in-law and father-in-law. He had bleeding twice. Outwardly, he could have suffered a cerebral hemorrhage if he sighed. We have expressed so much, we have sent a lot of petitions. We didn’t make our voice heard.
45 PEOPLE STAYED IN A WARD OF 7 PERSON, MY HUSBAND WAS SLEEPING ON THE FLOOR
My husband was arrested on April 7, 2017. He was a teacher in Cankiri. There are those who complain about him. He was first a religious official (appointed imam in a mosque by the Religious Affairs) in Cankiri. Then he became a teacher. Those who complained said he is “imam”. How they understand the words of the Imam… precipitately they took him in a Notary in Izmir. He was detained in Cankiri for 7 days and then taken to Corum.
He stayed in the normal ward for about 7 months. There were 45 people staying in a place of 7 people and my husband was sleeping on the floor. Hot water was given once a week. It was 10 minutes only per person.. how to take a bath in 10 minutes, washing the laundry. There were two toilets and a bathroom in the ward. 7 months later they put them in the cell.
We asked why he was put in a cell, the reply was “When he arrived, he would be put in the cell, but there was no vacancy.” But they didn’t mention why. And then the court order was issued, the doctor will have control with a period of 3 months and will remain in the cell.
His funeral was filled with his mother, father, and even his grandfather, along with his many students. For two years, my children could not see their father. 12 hours journey to Corum, 12 hours to return… It was difficult in all aspects; financially and spiritually. My 13-year-old daughter saw her dad in the coffin yesterday morning, with her father, undergone an autopsy.
My husband came out of that cell, but there are 9 more people, I know. And among them, there are as young people as 25-year-old, who recently graduated from the university. Last time I saw him, my husband said we haven’t seen the garden for six days. Even the canteen rights are limited.
He had a radio, I have recently received it. I used to call the radio station and send him a hello. My children were unable to talk to their father, as they were in school when it was our “telephone day”.
When there was no connectivity, he used to say “My lady, why you send your greetings to me?” However, the phone was not connecting… I pressed the keys once so hard that one day the phone dis-functioned.
He had high blood pressure, undergone internal ear surgery, one ear failure, diabetic, disturbed from the stomach, meniscus with a knee, had given fluid to one of the knees, herniated disc, neck hernia, prostate and so fort.. which one to count. And there he began psychological treatment. His mother passed away while he was in prison. He worsened in the last two years. We didn’t deserve it. Is humanity so cheap, don’t we have any value. What have we done to deserve it.