(due to urgency of the situation, open to signature until Oct 3, 2025, Friday, 18:00,)
Mr. Y?lmaz Tunç
Minister of Justice of the Republic of Türkiye
info@adalet.gov.tr
Subject: Urgent concern regarding the health and detention of lawyer Süleyman Yildirim
Your Excellency,
We, the undersigned organisations, write to you to express our deep concern regarding the situation of lawyer Süleyman Yildirim, a member of the Denizli Bar Association, who is currently in critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a state hospital.
According to the information received:
- Mr. Y?ld?r?m was held in pretrial detention from 23 March 2017 to 19 December 2017, and was convicted on 04 July 2018 by the Denizli 2nd Assize Court of membership in an armed terrorist organisation on the basis of alleged ByLock use and ordinary banking transactions. His conviction was later upheld.
- On 27 July 2025, while receiving treatment at Ac?payam State Hospital, Mr. Y?ld?r?m was detained and transferred to Denizli T-Type Prison. He was kept there for two months without adequate medical treatment.
- On 6 September 2025, after his condition deteriorated, he was transferred to the ICU of Denizli State Hospital, where he has remained for nearly three weeks. He underwent heart surgery and has suffered severe complications, including blood clot in the heart, risk of amputation of his legs, and fluid in his lungs.
- Doctors at Denizli State Hospital have issued medical reports stating that Mr. Y?ld?r?m is not fit to remain in prison and that he cannot travel even for medical control, stressing that his condition is extremely serious and that there is a high risk of death.
Despite this, the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institute (ATK) has reportedly insisted that he should be brought to Istanbul for further evaluation, in disregard of the local doctors’ medical opinionIt is particularly regrettable that Mr. Y?ld?r?m remains imprisoned despite the European Court of Human Rights’ Grand Chamber judgment in Yalç?nkaya v. Turkey (26 September 2023), which found that reliance on ByLock data as decisive evidence of organisational membership violates the European Convention on Human Rights.
The detention of a lawyer in such life-threatening medical condition, coupled with denial of timely and appropriate medical care, raises grave concerns of violations of Articles 2 and 3 ECHR that protect the right to life and prohibit inhuman or degrading treatment.
- Ensure the suspension of execution of sentence imposed upon Mr. Süleyman Y?ld?r?m on medical grounds so that he may receive adequate treatment.
- Ensure full compliance with the medical recommendations of the treating doctors in Denizli.
- Guarantee that lawyers in Turkey are not subjected to persecution, intimidation, or imprisonment for their professional activities or the exercise of their fundamental rights.
We trust that the Turkish authorities will take urgent steps to protect Mr. Y?ld?r?m’s life and health and uphold the rule of law.
Yours sincerely,
