'Unfounded, unlawful and unacceptable': Turkey's top doctor sentenced to nearly three years in prison

A Turkish court has convicted and sentenced the president of the Turkish Medical Association to almost three years in prison, in a controversial case that many critics have condemned as an attack on freedom of speech, science and on the country’s doctors. Dr. Sebnem Korur Fincanci, a forensic expert who has documented torture and ill-treament and was a former president of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, was found guilty by an Istanbul court of “terror organization propaganda” and handed a sentence of two years, eight months and 15 days in prison. She is expected to appeal the verdict, according to an Associated Press report. Meanwhile, the court ordered her release from pre-trial detention pending her appeal. The international medical community has expressed great concern and anger over Dr. Financi’s conviction and sentence. The World Medical Association, which had called for her immediate acquittal, denounced the case as “unfounded, unlawful and unacceptable.” Read: Turkey's top doctor jailed on terror propaganda charges Dr. Ole Johan Bakke of the Standing Committee of European Doctors, said the group was “deeply concerned about the continuous harassment of the Turkish Medical Association from the Turkish government and authorities.” The case also attracted the attention of human rights groups as well as the European Union, which sent a delegation to observe the trial. Dr. Fincanci, 63, was arrested in October 2022 shortly after a media interview where she called for an “effective investigation” into the allegations that the Turkish military had used chemical weapons against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq. She made the comment in relation to a video that purportedly showed the use of chemical weapons. After the interview, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Dr. Fincanci of slandering the country’s military and of “speaking the language” of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which has staged armed attacks against the Turkish state since 1984 and is considered a terrorist organization in Turkey, Europe and the United States. Read: Trudeau expresses support for Chinese protesters as show of dissent roils Beijing He vowed to clear the Turkish Medical Association and other professional organizations of “supporters of the terrorist organization.” At the same time, a nationalist party leader demanded that the medical association be shut down and Dr. Fincanci stripped of her Turkish citizenship. Dr. Fincanci was subsequently charged with engaging in propaganda on behalf of the terrorist group—a charge she denied during her trial, arguing that she merely gave a professional opinion. She also said in her final trial statement that the Turkish Medical Association, which counts about 11,000 members across the country, was the actual target of the investigation. Turkish officials have insisted that the military doesn’t use chemical weapons and that it doesn’t even have such weapons. Read: Canadian Iranian docs call for end to ethical and human rights violations

'Unfounded, unlawful and unacceptable': Turkey's top doctor sentenced to nearly three years in prison

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