Yesm Coskun fell ill with ALS after her husband Yusuf Coskun, a literature teacher, was arrested. Yesim Coskun passed away on May 16, 2021. Yesim Coskun, who has two children aged 18 and 13, was buried in Yildizli Village of Ordu.

Yesim Coskun, 44, who fell ill with ALS after her husband was imprisoned, had been receiving treatment for a long time. After being confined to a wheelchair, Coskun, who could not go to visit her husband in prison so that “my husband wouldn’t see me like this”, had a brain hemorrhage 4-5 months ago and fell into a coma. That was the last time Yusuf Coskun was able to see his wife, with the special permission of the prosecutor’s office. The children of the Coskun couple, whose mother has died and whose father is in prison, now live with their grandmother in the village.

Yusuf Coşkun (45), who was arrested in January 2017 as part of the Hizmet Movement investigations, was first sent to Bitlis Prison. Yusuf Coşkun, who has been in Diyarbakır Prison for a year and a half, was a manager at Bitlis Yavuz Sultan Selim Educational Institutions before he was arrested. The case of Coşkun, who was sentenced to 13 years and 9 months in prison, was at the Court of Cassation when his wife passed away.

According to the news by Sevinç Özarslan from BoldMedya on July 30, 2021, Yusuf Çoşkun described his last meeting with his wife in a letter he sent to his brother from prison:

The article started with this sentence “The letter, describing the last days of two children without mother and father, a father in prison and a mother in a coma, is hard to read.” and continued as follows:

Yeşim Coşkun, 44, who suffered from ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) after her husband went to prison, had a cerebral hemorrhage 3-4 months before she passed away. Coşkun, who was taken to Ordu State Hospital, could not come out of a coma until she died. She did not give any reaction to her children and family relatives.

She has never been able to visit her husband, who has been in prison since January 2017, after being wheelchair-bound. She always sent his children to the prison visits, saying, “My husband should not see me in this state, he should not be upset.”

Yusuf Coşkun, who was transferred from Bitlis Prison to Diyarbakır D-Type Prison 1.5 years ago, was able to see his partner of 20 years for the last time, when she was in a coma, after the prosecutor’s office gave permission, when he least expected it.

Telling his brother about that visit he made in March 2021, Yusuf Coşkun wrote in his letter how he went from Diyarbakır to Ordu with the soldiers, his emotional moments with his children at the hospital, and then the last time he saw his wife, whom he could only say “My Yeşim”.

“CAN WE HUG, DAD, IS IT ALLOWED?”
Coşkun, who faced many setbacks before he set off, did not lose hope despite the flight being canceled and the doctors saying that they would not allow visits at a late hour. When he arrived at the hospital, he describes those moments of enthusiasm that he saw his children in front of him at first as follows:

“When I walked in from the hospital and saw my children, I started crying. Zeynep immediately ran up and hugged me. Her eyes couldn’t see anything. Ömer wanted to come on the one hand, and he was looking at the gendarmes on the other. When I said, ‘My son, what are you waiting for?’ he immediately hugged me. ‘Can we come, Dad? Is it allowed?’ Of course, I hugged my children with the utmost care not to break apart and cried for a while, I smelled their scents to the deepest part of my heart, to the deepest part of my heart, and I cried, cried, cried. Both Ömer and Zeynep stood very firmly. Neither of them cried. Ömer said, “Dad, are you too? Please don’t cry. I would expect it from everyone, but I wouldn’t expect it from you,”. When Zeynep said, ‘Dad, please don’t cry. There is nothing to cry about’, I recovered myself.”

I LEFT THAT SCENE THAT RIPPED MY LIVER BEHIND AND WALKED OUT
Stating that he was shaken for the second time when the doctors said to him, “Let’s take you to your wife, then you will meet with your children again” Coşkun describes his farewell to his unconscious wife with these words: “She was lying unconscious with her eyes closed. I was thinking that my tears were dry, I was thinking that no more tears would come from my eyes. But still and all, I noticed the tears running down my cheeks when the nurse handed me a napkin. I just cried ”Yeşim, Yeşim, my Yeşim”. I cried as much as I could. Then I talked to her for a bit… I said ‘How can I leave and go?’ but I left the scene that ripped my liver behind me and left. I left, but I left my heart there and left. I left my self there. Yes, life will go on. We will continue to live with my children and, hopefully, my wife. But there’s something left of me there. It is difficult to describe what it is. It’s hard to tell.”

A HALF-DEAD MOTHER, A FATHER IN PRISON
Yusuf Coşkun (45), who was arrested in January 2017 as part of the Gülen Movement investigations, was sentenced to 13 years and 9 months in prison for allegedly being a member of an organization because he was a manager at Bitlis Yavuz Sultan Selim Educational Institutions. His case is in the Supreme Court.

Expressing his surprise at the fact that his two children, aged 18 and 13, accepted the incident so quietly and calmly despite the difficulties they faced, Coşkun states in his letter that he is worried about their psychological health:

“It touches my heart that they are left without a mother and father. I’m terrified that they experience that denial, throw it into themselves, and don’t tell me something will happen to them. I have a lump in my throat A half-dead mother, a father in prison, two children acting as if nothing had happened. Do you think this is normal? I mean, fortitude is okay, it’s good, it’s good, but is it normal? Let’s just say they’re trying not to reflect it onto me, which I think so, what if they’re doing the same to others as well…”

Yusuf Coşkun’s emotional letter, written on March 21, 2021, reads as follows:

In the name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful

Peace, compassion, mercy, blessings and forgiveness of Allah be upon you!
My very precious and dignified brother;

I received your letter, which I have been looking forward to for a long time, on Friday (19.03). I don’t know if it’s because I have been waiting for a long time, because you said you have good news, or because I haven’t received a letter from anyone for a long time, but I read your letter in one breath. I thought I’d take a look at it first. Then, when I picked it up so that I could read it again, I realized that I had already read the letter from beginning to end. After that, I read it again several times. No matter how long you wrote it down, no matter how much I tried to read it, it ended quickly every time. I should say I haven’t had enough satisfaction.

Dear brother. I was also surprised that they let me see my Yeşim. As a matter of fact, I didn’t think I would get a positive answer. So I was giving it a small chance. Their practices so far have shown this. As time progressed and no negative response came, my hope increased. In the end, permission was granted. As you mentioned, when I was told to deal with the money issue in a very tight time frame, I had some hesitation again. I mean, I thought it probably wouldn’t happen. Fortunately, it was possible to go with your efforts. Let me explain the process a little before it gets too long.

As you said, I was asked to deposit money into my account between 15:40 and 16:00. I was told that if I didn’t deposit it by 17:00, the permit would be canceled. Thank God, the manager allowed me to make my phone call on Friday that day. I called Emine, but I couldn’t reach her. I called again and again, but in vain. By the way, it was 4:00 pm. Maybe it even passed. I desperately called Omer. I told him that the situation was urgent and that he should call you immediately and inform me of the result. Of course, I was demoralized again when he said that it was late and the bank was closed. But for some reason, I had a feeling that I would see Yeşim.

I don’t know why, but there was a calm, a comfort. I mean, it feels like I’ll definitely see it, I’ll be able to see her no matter what. The feeling is in this direction, but events are taking place in the opposite direction. After all, he said that you would call the institution, and we hung up the phone. I waited for the next day. I asked, I asked, I didn’t get a sequel. Finally, they told me that we would leave at 03:00 on Thursday night. At 03:00 on Friday morning, we left the prison and went to the airport, and the journey began.

The staff were very understanding, I thank for them. So they did what their job required. I didn’t have any other expectations anyway. We landed in Istanbul. While we were waiting at the police station, we learned that the plane was delayed. The flight to Ordu was canceled in the morning. I was told that our afternoon flight could also be canceled. The same demoralization and the same serenity. You will say that two opposites cannot coexist. Yeah, cannot coexist, but here’s what you might think. A great sense of trust and peace right after a very rapid sudden loss of morale when the first news is received.

While waiting for the time the plane was delayed, the officer in charge started to negotiate with the Ordu State Hospital. If the plane took off, our probable arrival time would be around 16:00-17:00. Were they accepting patient visits at that hour? We also got some bad news from the hospital. They stated that they would only allow me to see my wife on the screen, even if they were to make me meet at that hour, and that they would not take me with my wife. The commander came and communicated the situation to me and said, “What a chance you have, friend. Is that how everything goes wrong?” he expressed his sadness as such. I said, “Commander, if we have our share, we will go and see. Nobody could stop that. Not the weather, not the doctor. If we don’t have a share, there’s nothing to do. We set off. I beg and beg from my Lord, my sacrifice is to my God.” I consoled him.

Fortunately, the plane took off late and we flew to Ordu. We went directly to the hospital from the airport. Along the way, I’ve been self-suggesting to keep my fortitude and not let myself go. I was aware that I had to stand firm so as not to upset the children. But as I got closer to the hospital, I realized what an unnecessary effort I was making.

When I walked in from the hospital and saw my children, I started crying. Zeynep immediately ran up and hugged me. Her eyes couldn’t see anything. Ömer wanted to come on the one hand, and he was looking at the gendarmes on the other. When I said, ‘My son, what are you waiting for?’ he immediately hugged me. ‘Can we come, Dad? Is it allowed?’

Of course, I hugged my children with the utmost care not to break apart and cried for a while, I smelled their scents to the deepest part of my heart, to the deepest part of my heart, and I cried, cried, cried. Both Ömer and Zeynep stood very firmly. Neither of them cried. Ömer said, “Dad, are you too? Please don’t cry. I would expect it from everyone, but I wouldn’t expect it from you,”. When Zeynep said, ‘Dad, please don’t cry. There’s nothing to cry about. When he said “Don’t cry or we will cry too”, I recovered myself.

“Baby, I’m crying because I miss you so much. It’s not for another reason. When I saw you after a long time, I couldn’t stand it,” I said. Thankfully, Özer and Arzu were there. And there is Serpil, the daughter of Yeşim’s aunt was there. And the eldest daughter of Arzu. Everyone was crying. After fulfilling our longing with the children for a while, the officials said to me, ‘Let’s take you to your wife, then you will meet with your children again’. When I asked, “Will you take it with you?”, they answered me “Yes”.

I can’t tell you about that moment, brother. A volcano bubbled up inside me. I feel like I’m burning with lava, a feeling of flame engulfing my entire body. While tears were the only potion that could put out this fire, I felt a pain as if I was being squeezed in a vice, as I did not want to shed my tears in front of the children. The sea inside me was rippling, storms were breaking in my world of feelings. I was going to see her again. How I was going to see her. What was I going to tell her? How was I supposed to get out of there and leave her again? How would I leave her in that state (whatever that state is)? We moved to the intensive care unit. They put clothes on us. Cap, gloves, etc.

Then we entered the room she was in. An intensive care unit with 7-10 people. And I saw her. My life partner, my other half, the owner of my heart, the lover of my heart, the sultan of my house, where I got lost or found myself, when I touched her hand, I was relieved of my troubles, I was enamored with the smell of her hair, my soft-spoken, my gazelle-eyed…

She was lying there unconscious with her eyes closed. I was thinking that my tears were dry, I was thinking that no more tears would come from my eyes. But still and all, I noticed the tears running down my cheeks when the nurse handed me a napkin. I just cried ”Yeşim, Yeşim, my Yeşim”. I cried as much as I could. Then I talked to her a little. I prayed. I read some prays. I noticed that her eyes blinked, her lips contracted. When I asked the doctor the next day, he said, “You talk to her, tell to her, touch to her”. While I was talking to Yeşim, the doctor said, “She can hear you right now. She’s reacting to you.”

I will not prolong it any further. It was a unique experience for me. It is a difficult, painful, jarring, partly destructive and exhausting experience. But if I hadn’t had this experience, if I hadn’t gone to my wife and seen her, I wouldn’t have forgiven myself for the rest of my life. Whatever comes, is from Allah (c.c). We’re not in the mood to rebel. May my Lord be my wife’s helper, my children’s helper, my helper, and all of the oppressed and victims who are waiting for healing and need help. In this life, everything exists for man and there is everything for man.

The current situation of Yeşim is as follows: her intensive care, or rather her coma, is not caused by ALS. She had a seizure and her heart stopped. She is intervened in the hospital and her heart is restarted. But at this time, oxygen does not go to the brain. In our last meeting with Arzu, she said that the chances of her coming back are very slim. Of course, hope in God is not lost. We do not believe in causes, but in the Müsabbibül Esbab’a (causes of causes). We will take refuge in Allah and pray to Allah. I hope that my Lord will grant good healings.

I said ‘How can I leave and go?’ but I left the scene that ripped my liver behind me and left. I left, but I left my heart there and left. I left my self there. Yes, life will go on. We will continue to live with my children and, hopefully, my wife. But there’s something left of me there. It is difficult to describe what it is. It’s hard to tell.

My very precious brother. I’m sure you know what life means to me. I consider it futile to write in detail. And I have no doubt that you’re sure there’s nothing wrong with that. What I’m really trying to tell you is something else. My perspective on life has changed a bit. So much pain, so much cruelty, so much injustice about the process has come to the point where one would say “enough is enough”. May Allah grant us the best.

No cruelty lasts forever. No injustice lasts forever. I also take refuge in my Lord. I ask him for help. Dear brother. I am writing this letter at a relatively tight time. That’s why I’m moving on to the part about other issues. Let me first say this. F-type prisons were opened here. It was opened about 5-6 months ago. There are rumors that we will be transferred there. I don’t know what happens. I have written a petition for transfer to Ordu-Ünye-Giresun. Its outcome is also unclear. As you can see, I can transfer. Therefore, before sending the answer to this letter, make sure to call the institution and get information… (S.Ö.: We do not publish the following parts of the 8-page letter because they are family matters.)
RESOURCES:
https://www.boldmedya.com/2021/05/17/anne-oldu-baba-4-yildir-hapiste-geride-ise-2-cocuk-kaldi/
https://www.boldmedya.com/2021/07/30/tutsak-ogretmenin-komadaki-esine-son-vedasi-yuregimi-yanina-birakip-ciktim/