Turkish Medical Association chair remanded in custody over 'chemical attack' statement

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Detained in a raid on her home early yesterday (October 26), Turkish Medical Association (TTB) Chair Şebnem Korur-Fincancı has been arrested for "propagandizing for a terrorist organization."

After her detention, Korur-Fincancı was referred to the courthouse. After four hours at the prosecutor's office, she appeared before a judgeship at around 7 a.m., bianet learned from the TTB.

After a three-hour interrogation, the penal judgeship of peace remanded Korur-Fincancı in custody.

The prosecution against the TTB chair concerns her comments on the recent accusations of chemical weapon use against Türkiye.

"I have examined the videos. Obviously, toxic gasses that directly [affect] the nervous system have been used," she had told Medya Haber, adding that an international investigation should be launched into the allegations.

She later criticized the outlet for reporting her comment as she "confirmed" the allegations.

Government officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, strongly criticized Korur-Fincancı, accusing her of "slander."

The government has denied any wrongdoing in its cross-border operations targeting the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Iraq's Kurdistan region.

About Şebnem Korur-Fincancı

Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur-Fincancı is a rights advocate and the Chair of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TIHV). The Foundation has been involved in the documentation of the cases of torture, rehabilitation of its victims and provision of legal assistance to them.

Şebnem Korur Fincancı is also one of the founding members of the Forensic Doctors' Association and has played the major role in the development of the United Nations reference standards on the investigation and documentation of the cases of torture, the Istanbul Protocol.

She has conducted forensic investigations to expose torture in multiple countries and in 2014 she received the International Hrant Dink Award. She has also been one of the founders of the Turkish Penal Code Association.

Devoting her professional life to the investigation and documentation of torture as well as struggle against it, Korur Fincancı has become one of the milestones in Turkey in that regard. Preparing reports on cases of torture and writing on medical ethics in the 1990s, when torture was prevalent in Turkey, she was met with the oppression and preventions by the state.

In 1997, she became the Head of Forensic Medicine Department at İstanbul University. In 2004, she was dismissed from this post. In 2005, she was reinstated by the Administrative Court and as per the decision of the Council of Higher Education (YÖK).

Şebnem Korur Fincancı also participated in the Editors-in-Chief on Watch campaign that was launched in solidarity with the Özgür Gündem newspaper, which was closed as per a Statutory Decree. Korur Fincancı was arrested on June 20, 2016 for having participated in the campaign and was released on June 30, 2016.

(PE/VK)