Turkey: Severely disabled political prisoner dies days to his release

A severely disabled prisoner, who has been denied release despite his medical condition and remanded in custody since 2011 over "terror charges" while the Turkish Court of Cassation is yet to decide on the appeal, died in prison days to his anticipated release.

The prison administration called the family of Ibrahim Yildirim to inform that he died of a concussion he suffered when he allegedly had a heart stroke and collapsed, Mezopotamya New Agency reported on Sunday.

Yildirim, 68, had a 96 percent disability, and was suffering a brain tumor. He had a total loss of eyesight in one eye and a 49 percent loss in the other one because of the surgical operations he had gone through.

Yildirim's wife Asli Yildirim had earlier expressed her worries as she had said in February:

"We constantly think of how he is doing in prison. We ask ourselves if he is still alive, if he has stumbled and fallen. We are deeply concerned for his life. My husband is ill and he is still incarcerated although he now has less than a year to serve. Although prisoners should be released in such conditions, they keep him jailed. This is a kind of treatment imposed only upon political prisoners. The rapists and burglars, on the other hand, all roam free."

Yildirim was expected to be released on 25 August.