'Do not let my son die in prison'

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A press conference was held at the Human Rights Association (İHD) İstanbul branch yesterday (March 29) for the right of Ekim Polat, a seriously ill prisoner in Denizli, to get access to treatment.

Ekim Polat, who was 19 when arrested, and is now 23 years old, is an acromegalia patient.

His mother Songül İlker, also in a sit-in protest for months now in front of the Denizli T-type prison for the demands of her son to be met, called on the authorities for her son's right to treatment.

"He has to be sent to a hospital"

İlker stated that it was risky for her son to be kept in prison, saying that he became an acromegalia patient in prison.

"The forensic medicine institute is manipulating the illness of my son," says the mother. She states that his organs were harmed and he is having difficulty in seeing to his needs, but that still his right to treatment is being denied. She states that his son needs a surgical operation.

İlker also says that the prison administration has several times threatened her son who has been requesting to be transferred to a prison in İstanbul for his treatment to be carried out in this city.

Acromegaly: Acromegaly is a disorder that results in excess growth of certain parts of the human body. It is caused by excess growth hormone (GH) after the growth plates have closed. Acromegaly is usually caused by the pituitary gland producing excess growth hormone. In more than 95% of cases the excess production is due to a benign tumor, known as a pituitary adenoma. The condition is not inherited. Acromegaly is rarely due to a tumor in another part of the body. Treatment options include surgery to remove the tumor, medications, and radiation therapy. Surgery is usually the preferred treatment; the smaller the tumor, the more likely surgery will be curative. (Source: Wikipedia) (AS/PE)