Hacı Elçi, who was shot in the head during the curfews in Cizre district of Şırnak in 2015-2016, was arrested after months of treatment. At the final trial held at Şırnak Heavy Penal Court No 2 on 17 January 2020, Elçi was sentenced to life imprisonment on the charge of "disrupt the unity and territorial integrity of the state". The court did not take into consideration the 52% mental disability report of Cizre State Hospital.

 

In 2018, Elçi's lawyer requested a report from the Forensic Medicine Institution (ATK) on his client's mental disability. In its report dated 11 May 2018, the ATK reported that "(...) no mental illness or mental retardation was detected, and the examination of the forensic file did not reveal any medical findings and documents (...) that would indicate that the defendant was in a state of mental disorder at the time he committed the aforementioned crime, which would eliminate his ability to comprehend the legal meaning and consequences of the act and to direct his behaviour in relation to this act (...)". The court took the ATK report into consideration and sentenced Elçi to life imprisonment.

 

Elçi has been in Şırnak Type T Closed Prison since the day he was arrested. Elçi's needs are met by the other prisoners with whom he is held. His family draws attention to the fact that their child is mentally disabled and demands his release.

 

'MENTALLY DISABLED FROM BIRTH'

 

His mother Belkıs Elçi said that her son was mentally disabled from birth and was sentenced to life imprisonment despite his disability report. Belkıs Elçi said, "He was constantly under the supervision of doctors here. Then a curfew was declared in Cizre and he was shot in the head while sitting in front of our house. My son was seriously wounded and was treated for months in Mardin Hospital. Then he was hospitalised in Istanbul. Then they arrested him. Is it right to arrest a mentally disabled person with epilepsy? We were receiving my son's disability pension. He has a disability report. He also has a rotten report. My son is paralysed in prison, his needs are met by his friends. Is this a right? Is there such a law? This is cruelty and nothing else."

 

Belkıs Elçi emphasised that her son was not in a condition to live in prison conditions and demanded that the verdict be overturned and her son be released. Belkıs Elçi added, "Everyone in Cizîr knows my son and knows that he is mentally disabled. He cannot meet his own needs now. He lives with the help of his friends. He feels nauseous and dizzy every day. What kind of justice is this? When I visit him in prison, I ask him, 'How are you?' He just says, 'I'm fine'. He doesn't know how to speak. He has a lot of difficulty because he was wounded in the head during the bans. How can you put a person in prison in this condition and give him a life sentence? My only demand is that this decision must be cancelled and my son must be released as soon as possible."

 

MA / Zeynep Durgut