Anti-torture campaigner detained in Turkey
Freedom from Torture is horrified to hear of the arrest in Istanbul of anti-torture campaigner Dr Şebnem Korur Fincanci.
Dr Fincanci, who trained as a psychiatrist, has worked tirelessly to support survivors of torture in Turkey and internationally. She was involved in the creation of the Istanbul Protocol, the international standard doctors use in Medico-Legal Reports, documenting and assessing torture, and is a member of the International Forensic Expert Group. She is also President of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey.
She was arrested on 20 June together with two journalist colleagues, Erol Onderoğlu and Ahmet Nesin, and is reported as being held in solitary confinement in Bakırköy Prison.
Dr Juliet Cohen, Head of Doctors at Freedom from Torture, said:
“All the doctors at Freedom from Torture acknowledge the debt we owe to our colleagues who drafted the UN manual on documentation of torture. It is called the Istanbul Protocol for a reason - the invaluable role played by colleagues from the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey.
“Just a few days ahead of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on 26 June, we join with medical professionals and anti-torture campaigners worldwide in demanding that the Turkish authorities release Şebnem and her colleagues immediately and unconditionally since they appear to have been arrested for exercising democratic rights."
