Kurdish youth threatened with death in prison

Naif İşçi, a Kurdish youth from Turkey’s Kurdish-majority city of Cizre (Cizîr), was a student at 8th grade when his house was raided and he was arrested.

He was sentenced to 24 years in prison over charges of aiding and making propaganda for a terrorist group and was incarcerated.

Naif İşçi has been in prison for 12 years.

Some time before he was arrested, a platinum bone plate had been placed in his leg following a traffic accident. The bone plate still remains in place despite the physicians recommending that it should be removed six months after insertion. As a consequence İşçi now has difficulty walking because his left leg has become shorter than the right one.

Mother Nebahat İşçi says they cannot visit him because they do not have the financial means.

Recently the family learned on the phone that he had been threatened with death in prison simply because he said, “I am a Kurd.”

A prison guard reportedly asked İşçi if he was a Kurd, to which at first he did not respond. When asked again, İşçi responded saying, “I am a Kurd.” Then he was threatened with death.

Speaking to Mezopotamya News Agency, Naif’s mother Nebahat İşçi said:

“You jailed my son when he was only 14. You were not able to discourage him back then, will you be able to do now? He has a plate in his leg, he has an ulcer in his stomach, his eyes cannot see very well. He has difficulty walking up the stairs.”

She continued:

“I will raise hell if anything happens to my son. They have threatened him with death. This is the second time they have done it. Not only that, they also banned visits for one month. No matter what you do, we are Kurds.”