Turkey detains head of medical association on terror charges
Sebnem Korur Fincanci was detained for allegedly disseminating "terrorist propaganda" a day after a political ally of the government demanded her Turkish citizenship be revoked and the Turkish Medical Association be closed down.
Turkish police raided the house of the president of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) in the early hours of Wednesday, detaining her for allegedly “spreading terrorist propaganda,” her lawyer and colleagues said.
The raid and the detention follow an investigation launched last week after Sebnem Korur Fincanci, who has headed the TTB since 2020, said that allegations of the use of chemical gases in Northern Iraq against militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) should be investigated by an independent commission.
Professor Şebnem Korur Fincancı, head of the Turkish Medical Association and Board Member of HRFT, is detained unlawfully. Fincancı should be released immediately. https://t.co/rUiW63TVBR
— TİHV-HRFT (@insanhaklari) October 26, 2022
Fincanci’s lawyer Meric Eyuboglu said the police had arrived at Fincanci’s house at six a.m. to detain her, although her lawyers had already informed the prosecutor’s office that she would come to testify at any time required. “Instead, we found the police at our door,” she tweeted, reporting that her client was “in good humor and resilient.” Fincanci was sent to Ankara for questioning. “Our colleagues in Ankara are waiting to talk to her,” Eyuboglu said mid-afternoon. “We have not yet managed to talk to the public prosecutor either.”
