Joint Press Release PHR-WMA-CPME-IRCT Sebnem Fincanci 28 December 2022

International Human Rights Groups Call for the Immediate
Release and Acquittal of Turkish Physician
December 28, 2022
Tomorrow, renowned Turkish doctor and human rights defender Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı will undergo a
second judicial hearing on baseless charges in Istanbul Heavy Penalty Court. Due process violations, lack of
evidence, and ill-treatment of Dr. Korur Fincancı during her transfer suggest that her arrest is a gross
miscarriage of justice. International medical and human rights organisations the CPME (Comité Permanent
des Médecins Européens), the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), Physicians for
Human Rights (PHR), the World Medical Association (WMA) and others stand in solidarity with their
Turkish medical and human rights counterparts in calling for her immediate and unconditional release and
acquittal on fraudulent charges of “making terrorist propaganda.”
Just days before, on 23 December, Dr. Korur Fincancı addressed the court, which was ruling on her release
from pre-trial detention, in a small, stuffy courtroom overflowing with supporters and independent
observers, while thousands of armed riot police surrounded the courthouse. The three-judge panel
introduced arbitrary rules during the proceedings, such as limiting Dr. Korur Fincancı’s legal representation
to only three lawyers. Despite her lawyers’ appeal for a safe and dignified transfer from Ankara to Istanbul
criminal court, the sixty-three-year-old was subjected to a five and a half hour ride in a van in handcuffs.
IRCT and PHR, which monitored her hearing on 23 December, condemn these due process violations, the
lack of evidence against her, and her gratuitous ill-treatment as manifestations of an unfair trial and
groundless detention.
Citing Kant, Socrates and Tacitus, Dr. Korur Fincancı, who served for years on the Editorial Committee of the
Istanbul Protocol for documenting and investigating torture, spoke of the sanctity of science and forensic
science in particular as a means to the truth. With seven gendarmerie hovering over her, she proclaimed her
commitment to the international human rights movement and to upholding the right to free speech. Citing
the political nature of the charges, Dr. Korur Fincancı’s defense attorney told the court, “There is no crime
here. She is a brave woman. The judge must be brave, too, and release her.”
The case against Dr. Korur Fincancı coincides with a broader government attack on Turkey’s independent
medical community. The members of the Central Council of the Turkish Medical Association (TMA) are
facing baseless criminal charges for alleged collaboration with terrorist organisations, and legislative
attempts to strip the TMA of its autonomy are underway. Central Council members face imminent arrest on
charges the prosecution has not yet shared with them. The trumped-up criminal charges against Dr. Korur
Fincancı and other leading Turkish physicians challenges the essential independence of the medical
profession, which is a central pillar of societies based on good governance and rule of law.
The CPME, IRCT, WMA and PHR call on the Turkish authorities to respect Dr. Korur Fincancı’s right to free
speech and acquit her of these false charges.
“Attacks on one physician are an attack on all of us, and indeed against the practice of medicine,” said Dr.
Michele Heisler, medical director at Physicians for Human Rights. “Dr. Korur Fincancı’s continued
detention and the unlawful charges against her are harmful to Turkish society as a whole. We demand her full
acquittal and long overdue release.”
“Şebnem is a human rights defender, and her right to defend human rights and express herself freely is
essential to ensuring that the people of Türkiye and the world can enjoy their universal human rights,” said
Lisa Henry, secretary-general of the IRCT.
Media Contacts
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+1 917 216 6964
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