Mehmet Sait Yıldırım suffers heart attack after prison release postponement

Mehmet Sait Yıldırım, a 75-year-old prisoner held for 33 years due to chronic health issues, suffered a heart attack following a meeting with the Prison Administration and Observation Board at İzmir Kırıklar 1 No’lu F Tipi Closed Prison. His lawyers and family report that the heart attack occurred after the board allegedly pressured him to express remorse, leading to a three-month postponement of his conditional release for a third time.

Yıldırım underwent emergency angiography and received two stents at İzmir City Hospital. During his hospitalization, representatives from the Democratic Regions Party (DBP) reported an attempted violation of human dignity, claiming gendarmerie personnel tried to handcuff him to his hospital bed, an action that was reportedly stopped following protests.

Yıldırım, who was originally sentenced to life imprisonment in 1995, suffers from multiple conditions including COPD and hypertension. While his condition is currently reported as stable, political groups and family members are calling for his immediate release.