Call for 'fair trial and release' from Tayfun Kahraman's wife: Not because of illness

The health status of urban planner Tayfun Kahraman, who is imprisoned in the Gezi Park trial, has returned to the agenda following statements by his wife, Meriç Demir Kahraman.

It is stated that Kahraman, who suffers from MS, is experiencing difficulties in accessing regular health check-ups under prison conditions.

In a program she attended on SÖZCÜ TV, Meriç Demir Kahraman shared important information regarding her husband's health problems and the trial process.

Meriç Demir Kahraman stated that Tayfun Kahraman has been an MS patient since 2005 and has suffered various attacks during this time. Expressing that regular check-ups in prison are being disrupted, Kahraman said they do not know why the MRI scan was scheduled for three months later. She emphasized that there are uncertainties regarding how Tayfun Kahraman's illness will be affected by prison conditions.

DEMANDS FOR A FAIR TRIAL

Meriç Demir Kahraman claimed that her husband did not receive a fair trial and that serious errors were made in this regard.

Stating that evidence in favor of Tayfun Kahraman was not taken into account during the trial process, she expressed that witnesses were not heard. She specifically argued that Sunay Akın's request to testify was rejected and that this situation violated the right to a fair trial.

Meriç Demir Kahraman stated that they will continue their struggle for her husband's health status and his right to a fair trial.

Meriç Demir Kahraman used the following expressions:

"Tayfun has been an MS patient since 2005; I have witnessed three of Tayfun's attacks. He has been receiving injections every day since that date. Later, we realized that this injection was losing its effectiveness. It is a disease related to the central nervous system. It is a disease that progresses as the nervous system creates lesions in the brain, and consequently, some limbs in the body cannot function. He currently has a heavy medication that he uses every day. Until today, Tayfun has not had any problems with the supply of this medication."

"Since it is unknown how prison conditions will affect Tayfun's illness, he goes for a routine check-up every 3 months to the Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa Hospital neurology outpatient clinic. This recent referral is one of those routine check-up referrals. However, we are not informed about these referrals. These referrals are made under the escort of the Gendarmerie. It is determined here according to the Gendarmerie, prison, and hospital calendar. Therefore, we can only be informed after the referral. This sometimes gets delayed."

"WE DO NOT KNOW WHY THE MRI WAS SCHEDULED FOR 3 MONTHS LATER"

"Physical examinations and blood and urine tests are performed there, and MRI scans are performed at certain intervals. We do not know why the MRI scan was scheduled for 3 months later. These things can happen, but it is not thought that Tayfun is currently having a physical attack during his examination. We can see the results of blood and urine tests and other tests when they arrive at the prison from the hospital. I want to convey this. This is how MS attacks happen. One day, Tayfun said, 'Meriç, I feel something strange in my tongue.' I said, 'It must be related to your tooth.' He went to the dentist, there was nothing wrong with his teeth. Later, before a New Year's Eve, he said to me, 'Meriç, I cannot pronounce some letters.' I actually looked and saw that he could not pronounce some letters. After a while, there was a drooping in his face. Then we went to the hospital immediately. We saw that there were new lesions in Tayfun's brain. Another attack happened when he used to play indoor soccer matches. He feels a slight sprain in his left leg. He wonders if he sprained it. We waited, and then we saw that he could not walk. We went and saw that there were new lesions in his brain and spinal cord. We started treatment.

"Today, the medication Tayfun uses every day is the medication he uses to prevent attacks. We know this from his last examinations. There is a loss in what is called deep sensation. He should be able to walk with his eyes closed, which they call tandem gait; there is a regression in this. Even though Tayfun is supplemented with Vitamin D from the outside, his level is not at the desired amount. Because he has no contact with the open air. It is difficult to treat and monitor this disease under these conditions."

"WE ARE NOT ASKING FOR RELEASE BECAUSE OF ILLNESS, BUT FOR A FAIR TRIAL"

"There is something else we have said before here. We are saying that Tayfun Kahraman did not receive a fair trial. We are talking about the processes related to the trial. We know that there is a serious error here. The evidence in Tayfun's favor was not substantiated. Sunay Akın said the other day, 'I was at the meeting held with the then Prime Minister Erdoğan on June 13, 2013. I wanted the court to hear me, but they did not.' We submitted petitions twice. It was not taken into account. There is not a single concrete document in the decision given against a person who was invited by the government and who followed the process as the President of the Chamber of City Planners. In which action did he attempt to overthrow the government by force?"

News Source: 12punto