ŞIRNEX - The release of ill prisoner Naif İşçi was postponed for the 5th time. 

 

Naif İşçi (28), who was arrested after being detained in September 2010 in Cizîr (Cizre) district of Şirnex (Şırnak) province, was sentenced to 24 years in prison for “committing crimes on behalf of an illegal organization without being a member of the organization”, “making propaganda for an illegal organization” and “violating the law on meetings, demonstrations and marches”. The Court of Cassation reduced the sentence to 16 years, taking into account İşçi's age. However, although İşçi has completed his sentence, he cannot benefit from the right to conditional release. 

 

İşçi's release was postponed for the 5th time on the grounds that he refused to “go on hunger strike” and “repentance”. The Administrative and Observation Board of Ahlat Type T Prison postponed İşçi's release for 3 months with a decision issued on August 1. 

 

HIS RELEASE PREVENTED DUE TO STATEMENTS HE DID NOT USE 

 

The Administrative and Monitoring Board cited statements that İşçi did not make and rejected as the reason for the postponement of his release. In the justification of the decision, the board stated that İşçi was charged with 18 counts of “going on hunger strike”, 10 counts of “chanting or shouting slogans unnecessarily”, 4 counts of “uttering words or behaving in a way that may cause fear, anxiety or panic in the institution - knocking on the door”, 1 count of “causing a grouping for negative behavior or joining a group for this purpose”, 1 time “Making unnecessary noise in the institution”, 1 time “Speaking or behaving in a way that may cause fear, anxiety or panic in the institution - verbal discussion”, 1 time “Conducting or having conducted training and propaganda activities of criminal organizations”. 

 

İşçi rejected the allegations and appealed the decision. İşçi's lawyers also said they would appeal against the board's decision. 

 

WHO IS NAIF IŞÇI?

 

Naif İşçi was detained and arrested on 26 February 2010 in Cizîr (Cizre) district of Şirnex province on the allegation that explosives were found in the garden of their house when he was 14 years old. After his detention, İşçi was alleged to have participated in demonstrations in the district and a lawsuit was filed against him on charges of “committing crimes on behalf of an illegal organization without being a member of an illegal organization” and “unauthorized possession of dangerous substances” which were annulled by the Constitutional Court. In the case filed at Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court, İşçi was sentenced to 14 years and 2 months in total. 

 

İşçi, who had a traffic accident shortly before his arrest and had a platinum in his left leg, has been in prison for 14 years. Because of this, İşçi's left leg has become shorter and he has difficulty walking.