Mücella Yapıcı examined in handcuffs, CHP submits a Parliamentary question

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Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Vice-Chair and İstanbul MP Gamze Akkuş- İlgezdi reacted to the handcuffed examination of architect Mücella Yapıcı, who has been sentenced to 18 years in prison along with seven others and has been in prison as part of Gezi trial.

'There is no such examination'

Akkuş- İlgezdi said:

"Mücella Yapıcı's eye and heart examinations were done while she was in handcuffs. This situation is unacceptable in terms of patient rights. As a dentist, I can't imagine extracting a tooth from a patient who is handcuffed. This reminds me of torture, not an examination. There is no such examination!"

The handcuffed examinations of Architect Mücella Yapıcı, who is imprisoned in Bakırköy Women's Closed Penal Institution, stirred reactions both in the healthcare community and society. Gamze Akkuş -İlgezdi, CHP's Deputy Chair for Health, submitted a Parliamentary question.

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5 questions for Koca

Akkuş- İlgezdi asked five questions to the Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca:

"Architect Mücella Yapıcı, who has been sentenced to 18 years in prison in the Gezi trial and arrested in Bakırköy Women's Closed Prison, was taken to the hospital from the prison 3 times.

"Architect Mücella Yapıcı announced that she was taken to all examinations in hadcuffsand that the handcuffs were not removed during the dental examination. She said that they did not intend to remove the handcuffs even during an x-ray, but were removed upon her own insistence.

"The way Mücella Yapıcı was examined is against the rights of patients and even against humanity, let alone the principles of the İstanbul Protocol. As a dentist, I cannot believe how they could have pulled a patient's tooth while handcuffed."

'İstanbul Protocol principles have been violated'

To reiterate the principles of the İstanbul Protocol in her proposal to the Minister of Health, Akkuş- İlgezdi said, "According to the İstanbul Protocol; the person should be considered a patient":

"While complying with the principles set forth in the İstanbul Protocol is a requirement of international and national legislation, failure to comply with these principles means acting against both legal rules and medical ethical principles."

Questions directed by CHP's Akkuş-İlgezdi to the Minister of Health are as follows:

1- Is it true that Architect Mücella Yapıcı was handcuffed during the dental examination and that the handcuffs were not removed even during a tooth extraction? Even if she is imprisoned/convicted, isn't this practice against patients' rights?

2- Is it true that Architect Mücella Yapıcı's handcuffs were not removed while she was brought to Beyoğlu Eye Hospital Retina Clinic? How can a handcuffed examination be possible when examining an important organ such as the eye?

3-Is it true that the handcuffs were only removed during her ECHO as a result of Yapıcı's insistence at the Sadi Konuk Hospital Cardiovascular Department, and that the gendarmerie tried to watch her prepare for the examination? If true, do you intend to take action?

4- If Architect Mücella Yapıcı had not insisted on removing the handcuffs during the x-ray, would the x-ray still have been taken in handcuffs? Are there any prisoners/convicts X-rayed while handcuffed?

5- Is it true that the Architect Mücella Yapıcı was not given the results of the tests and examinations despite her repeated requests, and that they were not even uploaded to e-nabız (online public health platform)? What is the purpose of keeping health test results from the patient? What are your ministry's views on this practice?

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(EMK/TB/SD)