Turkish court convicts doctor of terrorism propaganda, releases her from jail-rights groups
Turkish court holds a hearing in trial of Turkish Medical Association head Sebnem Korur Fincanci on "terrorist propaganda" charge in Istanbul
Wed, January 11, 2023
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A Turkish court sentenced the head of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) to more than two years in prison for terrorism propaganda on Wednesday but ruled she should be released after being in detention since October, human rights activists said.
Sebnem Korur Fincanci, a prominent rights defender, was arrested on charges of spreading terrorist group propaganda in October after she said in an interview that claims that Turkey's military used chemical weapons against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq should be investigated.
President Tayyip Erdogan at the time denied the accusations that were made on media close to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group in October, and said legal action would be taken against anyone making such allegations.
Fincanci's lawyer was not immediately available to comment on her sentence of two years and eight months in jail.
Rights groups have said Fincanci's detention was political and aimed to silence her. Milena Buyum, Turkey campaigner for Amnesty International, said her being found guilty was "an affront to all who uphold human rights."
"With our central committee head Dr. Sebnem Korur Fincanci, who is returning among us, we will play our role in the pivotal period before our country and will not allow the TTB or our country to surrender to the darkness," the TTB said in a tweet.
Turkey is due to hold parliamentary and presidential elections by June, which are expected to see a strong opposition challenge to Erdogan.
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), which represents doctors and campaigns to prevent armed violence, published a report in October seeking independent investigation of possible violations of the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention by the Turkish military.
The PKK launched an insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984 and more than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict. Fighting in recent years has increasingly focused on northern Iraq, where the PKK has bases.
It is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union and United States.
(Reporting by Daren Butler and Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
Turkish court holds a hearing in trial of Turkish Medical Association head Sebnem Korur Fincanci on "terrorist propaganda" charge in Istanbul
Wed, January 11, 2023
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A Turkish court sentenced the head of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) to more than two years in prison for terrorism propaganda on Wednesday but ruled she should be released after being in detention since October, human rights activists said.
Sebnem Korur Fincanci, a prominent rights defender, was arrested on charges of spreading terrorist group propaganda in October after she said in an interview that claims that Turkey's military used chemical weapons against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq should be investigated.
President Tayyip Erdogan at the time denied the accusations that were made on media close to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group in October, and said legal action would be taken against anyone making such allegations.
Fincanci's lawyer was not immediately available to comment on her sentence of two years and eight months in jail.
Rights groups have said Fincanci's detention was political and aimed to silence her. Milena Buyum, Turkey campaigner for Amnesty International, said her being found guilty was "an affront to all who uphold human rights."
"With our central committee head Dr. Sebnem Korur Fincanci, who is returning among us, we will play our role in the pivotal period before our country and will not allow the TTB or our country to surrender to the darkness," the TTB said in a tweet.
Turkey is due to hold parliamentary and presidential elections by June, which are expected to see a strong opposition challenge to Erdogan.
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), which represents doctors and campaigns to prevent armed violence, published a report in October seeking independent investigation of possible violations of the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention by the Turkish military.
The PKK launched an insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984 and more than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict. Fighting in recent years has increasingly focused on northern Iraq, where the PKK has bases.
It is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union and United States.
(Reporting by Daren Butler and Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
FILE PHOTO: Thousands protest in Turkey over Istanbul mayor's conviction in Istanbul
Wed, January 11, 2023
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish authorities have filed a lawsuit against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a potential challenger to President Tayyip Erdogan, accusing him of rigging a public tender while he was a mayor of the city's Beylikduzu district, the broadcaster Haberturk reported on Wednesday.
The charge carries a possible jail sentence of up to seven years, Haberturk said, adding that a hearing was scheduled for June 15.
The case was opened after an Interior Ministry investigation into a tender for recruitment services that was held in 2015, Haberturk also said.
Imamoglu called the lawsuit "an attempt to fabricate a bogus criminal offence," saying the tender process had been investigated at the time with no findings of wrongdoing.
"I do not even have my signature on tender documents. Besides, Interior Ministry and the Council of State had not detected anything problematic in their examinations at the time," Imamoglu said on Twitter.
Imamoglu was sentenced last December to two years and seven months in prison and banned from politics for insulting public officials in 2019, when he criticised a decision to cancel the first round of municipal elections, in which he beat Erdogan's AK Party, which had held power for 25 years.
He has appealed that verdict but his conviction has rallied the opposition bloc around what it sees as a fight for democracy, the rule of law and justice.
Critics say Turkey's judiciary has been bent to Erdogan's will to punish his critics. The government says the judges are independent.
(Writing by Ezgi Erkoyun; Additional reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Josie Kao)
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