Human Rights Defenders

🚨 URGENT HUMAN RIGHTS APPEAL TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TÜRKİYE: 73-YEAR-OLD SERIOUSLY ILL PRISONER LOSES PART OF HIS LEG - SECOND AMPUTATION PLANNED Abdullah Tırpan, a 73-year-old seriously ill prisoner, has already lost part of his left leg and now faces a second amputation. His right to adequate medical care has not been secured despite repeated family appeals and clear medical deterioration. We urgently call upon international human rights organisations, United Nations experts, European institutions, medical associations, journalists, and concerned individuals worldwide to pay attention to the case of Abdullah Tırpan, a 73-year-old seriously ill prisoner in Türkiye. According to information published on 23 October 2026 (and still the latest detailed public accounts as of 24 October), Turkish parliamentarian and physician @gergerliogluof and family sources report that Tırpan’s left leg was amputated below the knee following severe deterioration. He had been transferred earlier that week from Metris Prison to İstanbul’s Başakşehir Çam and Sakura City Hospital. His family states that the infection has spread further and that doctors are planning a second amputation, this time above the knee Abdullah Tırpan , who has reportedly suffered for years from severe diabetes, hypertension, vascular disease, neurological complications (including significant cerebral vessel narrowing and stroke risk), and reduced mobility requiring a wheelchair. Independent MP @myeneroglu , who visited him at Metris on 8 October, described advanced gangrene, open wounds larger than 10 cm, and an inability to stand or meet basic needs independently. His family has repeatedly appealed for postponement of his prison sentence on medical grounds; those appeals have reportedly been unsuccessful. Multiple assessments by the Council of Forensic Medicine (including December 2025) and Tekirdağ City Hospital medical boards (May and June 2026, with a further check around early October) concluded he could remain in prison His daughter, @esrayakut21178 , has publicly described the devastating news that doctors requested consent for another operation because the infection had spread. On 20 October she appealed for postponement of the sentence, stating the family was devastated. On 23 October she wrote of the overnight below-knee amputation and the impending second procedure. As of 24 October she continues to engage publicly with supporters amid the crisis. Dr. Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu has followed the case for approximately 20 months, repeatedly contacting prisons and hospitals, warning that the environment was unsuitable for managing Tırpan’s diabetic foot condition, and requesting postponement. Earlier delays (including a roughly four-month wait for a requested brain MRI that later showed serious vessel narrowing) have also been reported. These circumstances warrant independent examination of the timeliness and adequacy of care. Serious questions remain about assessments by the Council of Forensic Medicine (@ADLITIPKURUMU) and hospital boards that influenced decisions on medical postponement. Repeated requests reportedly failed despite substantial medical concerns. An independent review of the medical assessments, decisions, and procedures is needed. Medical needs must be evaluated on clinical evidence, professional ethics, and risks to health not according to the political background or nature of the conviction. Tırpan, a former butcher and meatball seller from Tekirdağ with five children and no prior convictions, is serving a seven-year-and-six-month sentence (imposed in 2019 and upheld later) related to alleged Gülen movement links. He has been imprisoned since the sentence became final around February 2025. The United Nations Nelson Mandela Rules establish that prisoners must have access to appropriate healthcare and that medical professionals must uphold the same ethical standards applicable to patients in the community. Articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights protect the right to life and prohibit torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. These principles require serious attention in a potentially life-threatening medical crisis. OUR URGENT REQUESTS We call upon the relevant Turkish authorities to: 1- Immediately suspend or postpone the execution of Abdullah Tırpan’s prison sentence on medical grounds and release him so that he can receive specialist care, infection management, further surgery if required, rehabilitation, and postoperative monitoring outside prison conditions. 2- Ensure he receives uninterrupted specialist medical care in a suitable hospital setting, with full family access subject only to legitimate clinical safeguards and his wishes. 3- Conduct an independent investigation into allegations of delayed or inadequate medical care that contributed to the progression of his diabetic foot condition to amputation, with accountability where wrongdoing is established. 4- Review the broader treatment of seriously ill and elderly prisoners to ensure that prison healthcare and sentence-enforcement decisions comply with the Nelson Mandela Rules and Articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. @hrw @HRW_Brussels @hrw_fr @AstTurkiye @StockholmCF @OthersInfo_TR @RebHarms @BellRibeiroAddy @JamesMacCleary @AmnestyTR @GomezMarcos @fidh_en @StuartR92034479 @OIP_sectionfr @freedomhouse @DrAliceJEdwards @PrisonersDFNdrs @MariaSTsehai @yulia_navalnaya @Kasparov63 @HRF @nargesfnd @LoujainHathloul @NickSotoudeh @TatsianaKhomich @Ashrafi4ever @WafaMustafa9 @ChrisWBlackwell @martinplaut @JusticeWithJean @candundaradasi @SammiBaluch @EP_President @SKorurFincanci @ankarabarosu