Interestingly enough, Turkish newspaper refer to the inmate, who was born and grew up in Denmark, simply as "Turkish". No wonder his mother feels they're not being treated like Danes.
Via Today's Zaman:
Ekrem Şahin, a 23-year-old Turkish inmate who was serving a two-year sentence in Denmark’s Kolding Prison passed away after he was severely beaten by prison guards and went into a coma.
Şahin, who was sentenced to two years on charges of robbery, was beaten by nearly ten prison guards after he refused to be transferred to another prison. His heart stopped after the incident and he was taken to the Odense University Hospital. His heart began beating following the doctors’ efforts but he remained in critical condition. Şahin died at the hospital on Saturday.
The Danish police, who earlier called the event resulting in Ekrem Şahin’s coma, “an ordinary, everyday event,” took action after the incident hit the Turkish press and the Turkish Embassy got involved.
(source)
Ekrem was born in Denmark and is a Danish citizen. His father, Ömer, came to Denmark in 1976, and his mother, Nermin, joined him in 1986.
Nermin Sahin told esktrabladet.dk by phone (DA, h/t Uriasposten) that the parents would continue to fight to find the truth about their son's death. "We will continue until whoever killed my son will pay for his actions," said the brokenhearted and very angry mother. "If necessary, we will find Denmark's best human-rights lawyer, and if we can't get justice at a Danish court, we will bring the case to the human rights court in Strasbourg."
Nermin says she doesn't feel she and her family are treated like Danes. "What we've experienced with our son, isn't the first example," she says and brings up the Turkish newspaper delivery boy who was beaten to death in Amager, and a young man of Turkish background who died after police violence in Copenhagen's Station 1.
"Such things happen frequently in Denmark," says Nermin. "But why don't human rights apply to us? They apply only to Danes. But if a Dane or somebody from another European country was subjected to such things in Turkey, like what my son was subjected to - what would Denmark do?"
Nermin therefore contacted the Turkish embassy in Denmark, so that Turkey would take up the issue with the Danish authorities.
Erdem Sahin (19), Ekrem's younger brother says (DA) he's very upset and filled with sorrow. "What the prison employees did to my brother is pure murder - they've willingfully killed him." Ekrem's cousin, Erkan Sahin, is also convinced it was no accident and that the prison guards were responsible for Ekrem's coma.
