Turk Telekom Bursa Regional vice manager Huseyin Ozen, who was imprisoned for 3 years, fell ill with Covid 19 in prison and died. He was infected with the virus due to searches without masks. 58-year-old Ozen left behind 2 tearful children and a grieving wife.

Huseyin Ozen, the former Turk Telekom Bursa Regional Vice Manager, died on November 14, 2020, who caught the coronavirus in Bursa H Type Prison, where he was detained for about three years. 59 years old Ozen was treated in Bursa City Hospital intensive care unit for 15 days. His condition was severe. It was not known when he was infected, what had happened, when he had suddenly become so severe.

He passed away on 14 November 2020, one day after HDP Deputy and human rights defender Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu shared on his Twitter account. The death of Ozen, who always did sport, took great care of his health and had not had any problems in prison, shocked his family. Huseyin Ozen, who lost his life in the intensive care unit of Bursa City Hospital, was buried in Bursa Hamitler Cemetery.

Sabiha Ozen, the wife of Huseyin Ozen, who argued that her husband became ill due to the unmasked ward searches, stated that they would file a criminal complaint against those responsible.

HE INFECTED WITH THE CORONA VIRUS DUE TO THE UNMASKED WARD RESEARCH

The details of the news in Bold and other information were as follows:
Sabiha Özen, who investigated her husband’s experiences with her own efforts, thinks that the prison administration´s negligence caused Huseyin Ozen’s death. Sabiha Ozen, who stated that her husband got the virus because of the unmasked ward searches in the last 2 months, said “Where else will they get it? They haven’t made any researches since the epidemic started. They have searched so frequently without a mask for two months”.
Expressing that he and his ward friends petitioned many times to go to the doctor, but to no avail. Ozen emphasizes that her husband protected himself with a polyester mask for 8 months. Despite many petitions for the mask, no results could be obtained. Saying that the doctor at the hospital said, “It was too late to be brought in”.We talked to Sabiha Özen about her last meeting with her husband and what he went through in prison.
One of the reasons for Huseyin Ozen’s arrest was the family vacation at the thermal hotel in Ankara Kızılcahamam. Sabiha Ozen said, “Bulent Arınç was also there. My husband never mentioned this during the trial. I urged him to say it, but he didn’t.”
When was the last time you saw your husband?
I saw him on October 21. He was coughing. I asked why you didn’t go to the doctor. “Is there a doctor?” he replied. Other prisoners had already petitioned many times to go to the doctor. They said ´´You have a flu.´´ They gave one syrup for cough.
Your brother-in-law said he bought the cough syrup from the canteen. Is this true?
An over-the-counter syrup. I don’t know if they take it from the canteen or give it from the infirmary. We bought a syrup, I’m drinking it, but it makes me cough more, I’ll quit, he said. I asked what he was doing. He said he was eating honey, ginger, turmeric.6 days later we had a phone call on Tuesday, October 27, 2020. He couldn’t even talk because of the cough, he was coughing so much…
On a visit day with his wife and little son
Your husband struggled with the illness till being taken to the hospital. Do you know what he went through in prison during that period?
His fever was rising at night, he was having shortness of breath, and his ward friends were trying to reduce his fever. They were very worried. The last night before he was taken to the hospital, he got out of the bed. He went downstairs. He was vomiting. He went back to upstairs. He vomited again. When he headed for the stairs, he couldn´t even climb up, he collapsed there. Ward mates shouted ‘the man is dying, the man is dying’. The guards came. Instead of taking care of my husband, they argued with the others saying, ‘Why are you shouting?
Did they take him to the hospital that night?
They took him the next day. There was my husband and a few other serious patients. And they put those yelling ones in a dirty place and called it the quarantine ward. When my husband first went to jail, they put them in a dirty place with a leaky ceiling. The next day, 4-5 people are tested and they were also positive. They also tested the others in the ward. They were all positive. But they kept those 4-5 people in that filthy place. They didn´t say let them stay together in the ward.
On which day exactly was your husband taken to the hospital ?
Corona test was performed on October 28, the test result appeared on the e-Nabiz at midnight on October 29. They were already in intensive care on November 30. There was a doctor named Ekrem Uysal. An experienced doctor, he hospitilazed.
Did you talk to his doctor?
I was able to meet once, the day before he died, on the 13th of November. We were able to get official information from the hospital once. It was not possible to get information… The doctor said his health condition was very critical. In the process of obtaining information, the prison caused us a lot of trouble.
What did they do?
I heard from the wife of a ward friend that my husband was taken to the hospital. We immediately checked e-Nabiz(e-Pulse). Coronal intensive care, 2nd step pandemic treatment is written. When I called the prison, they said ´´we don’t have any patients in the intensive care unit.´´ Two days passed like this. On Monday I reacted to the officer saying ´´why are you lying. I see it from your e-Nabiz. ´´Then they said let’s see and hang up the phone. Then they called me back. They connected the prison psychologist to me, he said, ‘he is fine, he meets his own needs’. How would a patient in intensive care could meet his own needs? I don’t think he could do such a thing. The next day the psychologist called again. He said again that he was fine.
When did his condition worsen?
We learned that he was intubated on Thursday morning, November 5. 2020. And that day we got the news that he was released. I downloaded the analyzes from e-Nabiz and gave them to the lawyer. We submitted a petition to the Bursa 11th High Criminal Court, saying that we want him to be released. He was released on Thursday morning. But he never learned that he was released. As I learned later, the doctor who took care of my husband said, “It was too late to be brought in.” says. I wish that doctor would come out and talk… A deputy said that judges were stuck between their wallets and their consciences, now all people are stuck between their wallets and their consciences. Because everyone is in danger of losing their job. You can’t say anything to people.
How long had your husband been imprisoned?
Exactly 33 months. He passed away on the night of 33 months. On 14 November 2020, at Bursa City Hospital. He was detained on February 15, 2018. On February 27, Bursa Civil Court of First Instance arrested him.(correction: refers to the Civil Court of Peace)

Did he experience any illness or other problem in prison during this time?
He never had. We have everything in our letters. Our phone conversations are also always recorded. My husband told me that they behaved well, that they were gentlemen and that they always showed convenience. This is something we have never expected.
He may have reflected the situation to you that way. Letters are read and phone calls are tapped as far as I know.
I do not know. He would say it anyway. He wouldn’t be that quiet. There is also this: In the pandemic process, 8 months have passed. For the first 6 months, they did not make any search in the wards. Whatever has changed in the last two months, a strange search intensity has started. There was face-to-face visiter day, they keep the stuff for a day. They’re scrutinizing. Why did they do this? So I don’t know what changed or what happened.
Do you think your husband infected during those research?
Of course. When else will they be infected? No one comes to the prison except the guards from outside. Moreover, the guards enter the wards without masks. The walls of the garden are 8 meters high. Since it will not rain from the air, no one enters the ward other than the guards. The items are also ventilated one day and given away.
Did you take your husband’s stuff?
That was another problem we had. I said I wanted his stuff. They said ok. They made it his ward friends pick up his stuff, and they did not collect it themselves. They wrote their belongings on an unsigned, stampless record. He has 3 shoes, it is written 2 shoes. My husband always took notes about the visitor days; opinions, dates, who came, etc… He also had a mask.
Did they also give you the mask he used in prison?
Yes, they did. Shouldn’t it be thrown away? A polyester mask. He used that mask for eight months. It was the only mask. There are no other masks. Despite several petitions, no positive response was received. They said ´´Bring it to the canteen. So that we can buy it from the canteen. You sell everything, why don’t you sell mask? My wife was sick. He had a hernia. We bought a special bed from the canteen with double the money. After my husband was intubated, they gave 10 masks to the other prisoners after everthing revealed.
What were the allegations against your husband? For what did they accuse him?
First, we had money at Bank Asya. Our children had studied at Bursa Nilüfer College, which was closed. Third, we went to the Asya Termal holiday village in Kızılcahamam. I don’t remember which year it was. They alleged when we went there, there was someone who has later been arrested. We went there to meet them. This is the allegation. We asked if there was a phone call with these people. It was not revealed in court. There was no Bylock. It couldn’t have been.
Unfortunately, in this process, they arrested many people who went to the spa in Kızılcahamam.
Bülent Arınç was also there when we were in Kizilcahamam. My husband never mentioned this during the trial. I urged him to say it, but he didn’t.
My husband was called from the police 10 days before he was arrested, he went to testify. That’s when he was asked about Bank Asya, the children’s school. Then nothing happened, he signed the report. Then a confessor says he saw him in congregation chats. The man gave in 40-people´ name to save himself. During the trial, the prosecutor asked for his release twice. The judge did not. The prosecutor changed in the decision hearing. They changed him maybe otherwise they would have to release if he wanted the release again. He was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison.
Did your husband work at Turk Telekom or was he laid off?
He was the vice regional manager at Bursa Turk Telekom. He worked for years. He retired in February 2016. He was not working when the coup occurred, he was home. My husband was the pillar of the family. We were all so devastated. My mother-in-law is 85 years old and lives with a pacemaker. My brother-in-law could not get up when he heard the news of his death. Of course, we cannot say anything about what comes from God, but there is a negligence here.

What will you do next? Do you have a plan?
We start the litigation process in a few days. We will file a criminal complaint against the prison administration for negligence. Then I will file a lawsuit for compensation. I don’t know if it will work. Allah knows. But I will defend my husband´s right to the end, because they killed him. Someone who knew my husband wrote on Twitter: “Huseyin was an athlete, he used to participate in cycling tours, he had a strong body, they must have tried very hard to kill this man.” He always exercised for an hour a day. The was interested in bike tours. On weekends, he would bike for at least 4-5 hours. Huseyin Ozen has two sons, Batuhan and Berkehan.