Since 2020, the release of 8,521 people has been postponed. Prisoner Sami Geylani is one of those whose release was postponed by the decision of the Administration and Observation Board. Geylani, who was arrested in 2010 in Dêrik district of Mêrdîn on the allegation of being an "terrorist organisation manager" and sentenced to 16 years in prison, completed his sentence in 2022. However, his release was constantly postponed by the Prison Administration and Observation Board.

 

Geylani, who was held in Çorum Type L Closed Prison, was exiled to Diyarbakır Type D Prison, Ankara Sincan, Edirne Type F Prison, Kayseri Bünyan and finally to Çorum Type L Prison in 2022. In a telephone conversation with mother Gülşen Geylani, who lives in Şemzînan district of Colemêrg (Hakkari), prisoner Geylani talked about the problems he faced in the prison where he was exiled.

 

'HE CANNOT BREATHE'

 

Gülşen Geylani stated that her son reported that the wardens put mental pressure on the prisoners. Gülşen Geylani reacted against the pressure on prisoners and said: "My son has been imprisoned for nearly 15 years and has been subjected to exile policies many times during this period. Since his exile in 2022, he has been kept in a solitary cell. In the last phone call I made with my son, he said that there is a small window in the cell room where he was taken, that he could not open the window to breathe as the weather got colder, that when he opened it, the temperature in the room dropped due to the lack of heating in the prison, and that he could not breathe when he closed the window. This is cruelty. If they have sentenced him, they should at least leave our children alone."

 

'HIS RELEASE HAS BEEN PREVENTED FOR 2 YEARS'

 

Gülşen Geylani called on the authorities to bring her son to a nearby prison and to put an end to the pressure and ill-treatment on him, "As a mother, my heart cannot bear all these cruelties anymore. My son is not being released even though he has completed his execution. In 2022, when he was supposed to be released, he was exiled and put in solitary confinement. This year is about to expire, and I demand that my son is no longer prevented from being released and released immediately. Enough is enough. There has been enough torture, pressure and ill-treatment for years. Let's put an end to this and release my son," she said.

 

Gülşen Geylani stated that these practices have no place neither in law nor in human conscience and continued as follows: "No one accepts these pressures. We are mothers, our hearts are already wounded. What do they want from our children. My son has been exiled for years, and now they have put him in solitary confinement for 2 years. Since the day my son was exiled, I have not been able to go to see him due to financial impossibilities and distance. Although I have repeatedly petitioned every prison where my son was exiled to bring him to a nearby prison, my son was exiled to an even more distant prison. They have exiled him so many times, I wish they had exiled him once to the prison in Wan. Why are they taking my son further away from me? May God not accept this cruelty."

 

MA / Mazlum Engindeniz