Civan Boltan, held in Bolu F-Type Closed Prison, was seriously wounded during an armed clas in the countryside of Dara Henê (Genç) district of Çewlig (Bingöl) province on 24 April 2012. At first he was declared "dead", but after a while it was realised that he was alive. One of his hands was amputated, he lost sight in his left eye and 80 percent vision loss in his right eye. Boltan, who had shrapnel in his brain, was sentenced to heavy life imprisonment on 3 February 2014 by Diyarbakır Heavy Penal Court No 9 on charges of "damaging the constitutional order of the country and attempted assassination of public officials". The Court of Cassation upheld the verdict on 23 October 2014.

 

Upon exhaustion of domestic remedies, an application was made to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The ECHR convicted Turkey with its decision on 12 February 2019. The judgement stated that Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECtHR), which regulates the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, was violated. The decision also set a precedent for those sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment.

 

In the retrial following the "violation" verdict, a similar verdict was given again and the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation upheld the verdict. The court reasoned that in order to implement the ECtHR judgement, the Turkish Penal Code needed to be amended.

 

According to legal experts, international conventions are superior to domestic laws and must be implemented. Despite this, the ECtHR's "violation" judgement is not implemented and no regulation is made in this regard. The applications of Boltan's family and lawyers, who are among the seriously ill prisoners, were not responded to.

 

Nazime Boltan demanded the release of her son and stated that his treatment was incomplete and he was subjected to ill-treatment after his arrest. Nazime Boltan said, "He is now among the seriously ill prisoners in Turkey. Despite this situation, they still hold a grudge against my son and torture him. Last year, when he was trying to get food from the grille, they dropped the grille of the door on him. My son's fingernails fell off after this incident and they did not even take him to the infirmary."

 

'TAKE STEP'

 

Nazime Boltan stated that she could not go to see her son due to health problems and said, "The last time his father went to see him was 1 year ago. I am unwell, so I cannot go every time." Drawing attention to the "Call for Peace and Democratic Society" made by Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan on 27 February, Nazime Boltan said, "We see that a process is being carried out. Firstly, the Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan must be released and then ill prisoners in serious condition must be released. They should take a step for the process as soon as possible. Since a process has started, they should do what the truth requires."

 

MA / Şilan Şirvan Çil