Ahmet Tuneli was detained and arrested in his house in Rezan (Bağlar) district of Amed (Diyarbakır) on 1 November 1994, was sentenced to life imprisonment for "disrupting the unity and integrity of the state" by Diyarbakır 2nd Special Authorised Court in 1996. Tuneli, 59, was expected to be released on 31 October 2024. Tuneli was held in Urfa Siverek Type T Closed Prison No. 2, but his release was postponed due to a report by the Prison Administration and Observation Board stating that the is not in "good behaviour". 

 

On 5 February 2025, the Board of Administration and Observation convened for the second time and decided to postpone Tuneli's release for another 6 months on the grounds that "he is not remorseful and his awareness of the crime has not been formed", although the Board stated in its decision that Tuneli had spent a period of execution in accordance with other "good behaviour" evaluation criteria. 

 

Justification of the decision on Ahmet Tuneli reads: "In the individual interviews, it was concluded that he had no remorse and awareness of the crime, no definite judgement was reached about the risk of harming the society, it was concluded that he had no remorse for the crime he committed, he went on hunger strike and death fast for the terrorist organization, he had a tendency to radicalise negatively during the execution process, he had no perception of crime". The Administrative Observation Board set the date of the next evaluation meeting as 6 August 2025." 

 

'I DON'T KNOW WHETHER I WILL SEE HIM OR NOT'

 

Mother Enze (Azize) Tuneli has been waiting for her son for 31 years. She talked about her experiences during this period. Enze Tuneli, who is bedridden due to her illnesses, stated that her son has been in prisons in cities such as Mûş, Ordu, Istanbul and Siverek. Enze Tuneli said that she could not go to her son's visits for 2 years due to his illnesses and said, "While we were waiting for him to come today or this month, they postponed his release for another 6 months. I am bedridden and I don't know whether I will see him or not."

 

"Ahmet is my youngest son. My only wish is to see him. I see him in my dreams," said Enze Tuneli and added, "I miss him very much. I always kept my hope alive. He have finished his sentence, why don't they release him? My only concern is his release. Even if it takes 6 months, we are afraid that he will not be released again. Enough is enough, let them release him. Our eyes are on his way."

 

MA / Müjdat Can