Şebnem Korur Fincancı: I will take legal action regarding the smear campaign
Following the release of the documentary "Adnan" prepared by the YouTube channel 140journos, a smear campaign has been launched against Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, the chair of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB).
The documentary revolves around da Adnan Oktar organization, an Islamic cult whose members received prison sentences for sexual assault, abuse of minors and managing a criminal organization.
Former member of the organization Özkan Mamati, speaking in the video, accused Fincancı of "falsely preparing torture reports on behalf of the organization."
Journalist Timur Soykan also claims, "Adnan Oktar and his team had no hesitation in exploiting this. They seriously abused it, and if a report enters the case file stating that the statement was taken with torture, the entire trial process can be completely disrupted. You can completely derail the trial and get away from there."
"Torture cannot be justified"
Fincancı responded to the allegations on her social media account, stating, "Torture is an act of violence intentionally carried out by public officials for the purpose of intimidation and suppression. Since the perpetrator is a public official, torture is an absolute crime that states have the responsibility to prevent, refrain from, and not leave unpunished.
"Who the victim of torture is and what they did cannot legitimize the crime of torture. However, efforts to legitimize torture and impunity are widely used to perpetuate torture, and all methods are put into operation to undermine efforts to make torture visible.
"The recent series that appears to have been broadcast as a documentary tries to portray my personally organized medical evaluation reports, which are understood to be falsified, with untrue statements to legitimize torture.
"Those who target me, but ultimately open the door to a very dangerous situation, include statements that could harm those who have been tortured.
"In forensic medical practices, medical evaluation consists of a story, medical examination, mental evaluation, tests, and the discussion of the compiled data at these stages, culminating in a diagnosis.
"If these stages are not present in the initial examinations, it is possible to have an evaluation that indicates the need to complete all examination steps by identifying deficiencies.
"Research conducted to document torture has allowed the development of diagnostic methods that can diagnose torture months or even years later. The Istanbul Protocol is a guide that includes all these stages and methods.
"In the presence of the parties alleged to have caused harm and those who claim to have suffered harm, when one of these parties does not want the medical document to be organized, sometimes the document and sometimes the one who organizes it serve to devalue institutions, ultimately serving to legitimize torture, as in this case.
"Legitimizing torture is an initiative that will harm society. Once legitimized, all individuals in society are at risk of being tortured.
"Therefore, human rights defenders fighting against torture strive to make torture visible independently and without distinction from who tortured whom or what is put forward to legitimize it.
"What should happen in a judicial process is not to collect evidence of torture but to conduct the process with fair trial. The existence of those who have suffered torture and making torture visible do not hinder the investigation of the alleged crime.
"On the contrary, when torture continues, is left unpunished, and evidence of the crime is not collected using appropriate methods, it leads to the cover-up of the alleged crime.
"False report allegations are also widely used to devalue these medical documents. Not only in this country but also in many countries worldwide, I have faced such allegations for decades in investigations.
"Although I have proven in investigations that all reports prepared are based on medical knowledge and research results, they never gave up trying, and it seems they will not give up.
"Although those who prepared the series claim otherwise, unfortunately, they did not reach out to me. There was no request for any explanation.
"The relevant medical documentation process, as always, was prepared using the possibilities of medical science and the evaluation of opinions from various fields of expertise and relevant examinations.
"Of course, these reports can be discussed in medical settings. If there are new examinations, they are evaluated. The discussion of a scientific publication is done with scientific principles, but it cannot be used to legitimize torture.
"I also share from here that I will take legal action regarding the inappropriate process and the smear campaign carried out in a way that includes the institutions we work with on social media." (AS/VK)