Turkey sentences doctor on terrorist propaganda charges.
a court of Turkey sentenced on Wednesday the Dr. Sebnem Korur Fincanci for “making propaganda in favor of a armed terrorist group“.
Fincanci is the president of the Turkish Medical Association, the largest national union of doctors with around 110,000 members.
What did the court decide?
The Istanbul court sentenced Fincanci, 63, to a sentence of two years and eight months, but released her from jail while she contests the verdict.
Fincanci was arrested in October after she urged an investigation into the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Turkish army against Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq. She made the claims during an interview with the pro-Kurdish television outlet Medya Haber.
The Turkish military has denied these accusations and said that Fincanci is repeating the claims of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the EU. The group has waged an insurgency against the Turkish government since 1984. Turkey’s military also occasionally attacks targets in predominantly Kurdish areas along its borders in Iraq or Syria, arguing that PKK fighters or their allies withdraw through of the borders in search of security.
The areas that some Kurds argue should be an independent Kurdish country include the region around the borders of Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran.
The terrorist propaganda charges against Fincanci could have landed her in jail for seven and a half years. Her release by the Istanbul court was greeted with cheers from her supporters and relief from her lawyers.
“We thought they would keep her in jail,” defense lawyer Meric Eyuboglu told the AFP news agency after the trial. “We were preparing for the worst, and this is a surprise. We are happy for her.”
The advocacy organization Physicians for Human Rights criticized the ruling, calling it “ridiculous and shameful.”
“Instead of saluting the courageous and visionary work of Dr. Korur Financi, the Turkish authorities have tried to intimidate, punish and criminalize her work and that of other doctors. The harassment must stop,” said the group’s director, Michele Heisler.
Fincanci defends controversial comments on chemical weapons
After his release on Wednesday, Fincanci defended his call for a chemical weapons investigation in remarks to reporters.
“Of course, as doctors we will prioritize human health,” Fincanci said. “We will be against wars and we will do everything possible to prevent all kinds of weapons, to prevent their use, to eliminate them.”
Fincanci’s comments have drawn the ire of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who accused her of “speaking the language of terrorism”.
Devlet Bahceli, the leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), has called for the revocation of Financi’s Turkish citizenship and the closure of the Turkish Medical Association.
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Erdogan has cracked down on the opposition and critics ahead of this year’s presidential election and more generally in recent years after a failed coup attempt in 2016.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a political rival who could challenge Erdogan for the presidency, was sentenced to more than two years in prison for insulting officials, and the ruling is seen by supporters as politically motivated.
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