Swedish lawmaker Markus Wiechel has condemned Turkish authorities over the death of 15-year-old Sümeyra Gelir, whose mother remains imprisoned due to alleged links to the Gülen movement, the TR724 news website reported on Friday.
Speaking at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg, Wiechel described the case as “grave injustice” and urged Turkey to release the girl’s mother, Melek Gelir, immediately.
Sümeyra Gelir was found dead at home on April 4 in the northwestern Turkish province of Sakarya. The cause of death was reportedly related to epilepsy. She had been caring for her two younger siblings since her mother, former physics teacher Melek Gelir, was serving a prison sentence on conviction of alleged ties to the Gülen movement, inspired by the late Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen.
Wiechel, who leads Sweden’s delegation to PACE, said he was “profoundly moved” by the tragedy.
“As a father, I find it heartbreaking,” Wiechel said. “A child has died because her mother was imprisoned on dubious grounds. That she still has two years left in prison is completely unacceptable.”
Sümeyra was diagnosed with epilepsy after her mother’s imprisonment and had been receiving treatment for the past year.
“Sümeyra was a very sensitive child. When her mother was sent to prison she took over the care of her two brothers. While I was working, she would feed them, dress them and take them to school. But she would cry herself to sleep at night,” her father Abdullah Gelir said.
Gelir explained that Sümeyra had also been receiving psychological support from a doctor. “My daughter was just a teenager, and she spent most of her adolescent years apart from her mother. I could never fill that void. Yes, we had family members around, but nobody could fill the empty space of her mother.”
Melek Gelir is serving a prison sentence of almost seven years in Sakarya Ferizli Prison. Her conviction was based on her employment at a private tutoring center linked to the Gülen movement that was shut down by a post-coup emergency decree targeting institutions alleged to have ties to the movement.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement since corruption investigations revealed in December 2013 implicated then-prime minister Erdoğan as well as some members of his family and inner circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and a conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began to target its members. He intensified the crackdown on the movement following an abortive putsch in 2016 that he accused Gülen of masterminding. The movement strongly denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
Wiechel’s comments came amid a wave of condemnation from European lawmakers, who are calling for Melek Gelir’s release and questioning the legitimacy of her conviction. Gelir, a former teacher, was sentenced under terrorism laws widely criticized for targeting individuals with tenuous or no proven links to criminal activity.
British MP Sir Edward Leigh described Sümeyra’s death as “deeply saddening,” accusing Turkish authorities of violating human rights by refusing to relocate Gelir closer to her daughter. “This is a clear human rights violation,” Leigh said. “Turkey must be held accountable.”
Melek Gelir was incarcerated at a prison far away from her home, which made it very difficult for her children to visit. Pro-Kurdish People’s Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) lawmaker Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, a prominent human rights advocate, said he repeatedly asked for Melek Gelir’s transfer to a facility closer to her children in Bolu but that those requests were denied.
Spanish MP Laura Castel said the case was emblematic of the broader consequences of politically motivated prosecutions. “No child should die in pain because their mother is imprisoned on absurd charges,” she said. Castel added that she would continue to follow the case both as a legislator and as a mother.
Cypriot MP Constantinos Efstathiou echoed those concerns, warning that Sümeyra’s death reveals the human toll of repression. “Behind these cases are real lives,” he said. “We cannot be indifferent.”
San Marino’s Gerardo Giovagnoli said the case transcends politics. “This is about humanity,” he said. “Releasing this mother harms no one. It’s the right thing to do.”
Sümeyra Gelir’s death has intensified international scrutiny of Turkey’s post-2016 purge, which has seen tens of thousands jailed over alleged ties to the Gülen movement. Rights groups and European officials continue to call for a review of the sweeping arrests.
