İZMİR- Dr. Zeki Gül who describes the prevention of the right to treatment of hunger strikers as  torture spread over time, said:" In order to monitor the hunger strikes independent doctor delegations should be formed like before.

 

The hunger strike of Democratic Society Congress (DTK) Co-chair and People's Democratic Party Hakkari Parliamentarian Leyla Güven who is protesting the isolation of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan is in its 58th day. Many people started a hunger strike following Leyla Güven. Now there are 94 prisoners in an indefinite non-rotating hunger strike as well as the prisoners who are doing 10 day hunger strikes for support. Turkish Medical Association (TTB) and the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TIHV) established independent monitoring commitees established in the last 20 years. Dr. Zeki Gül ,who has been in that committee drew attention to the importance of physicians in hunger strikes.

 

Gül, stating that health is a social subject, said: "We hear from the press that the vitamins and the recommended ratio of salt is not given to the prisoners in hunger strike. If this information is true this is a violation of the autonomy of the profession of physicians and to the right to treatment of the person in hunger strike.If there is a prison administration preventing hunger strikers from taking salt and sugar, that is a form of punishment which they do not have the authority to perform." 

 

Gül who states that independent monitoring committees are not a side in hunger strikes,reminded that he is one of the doctors invited in the prisons for monitoring before. He underlined that in the prisons that have a monitoring committee, no deaths occured by hunger strikes because they had data in their possession to treat the hunger striker after they finish the strike. 

 

Gül who stated that the population of the prisons is in its most crowded state in the history of the republic, called on for the immediate formation of independent monitoring committees.

 

Gül drawing attention to the importance of B1 and B2 vitamins in hunger strikes, said: " To prevent the treatment right of a hunger striker knowing that it will have a long term adverse effect is torture extended over time.Ministry of Justice must immediately make a call to Turkish Medical Association (TTB) for the establishment of the committees like they did before.