Human Rights Organizations Demand Release of Rights Defenders

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Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) Cizre Representative and previous president of Şırnak Chamber of Medicine Dr. Serdar Küni was arrested on October 19 and sent to prison.

Human Rights Association (İHD) Hakkari Branch President İsmail Akbulut was detained on October 18 when he was home. Akbulut is still in custody.

TİHV and İHD demanded release of the rights defenders by releasing a written statement.

“Main question of this arrest process is national and international treaties”

TİHV Board declared that Küni was “arrested on abstract charges based on directly his occupational practices”.

“Küni has sustained his profession of medicine whose only reason for existence is protecting and developing human life with the medicine’s basic ethical and scientific references. For this reason, the main question of this arrest process is national and international treaties, universal ethical rules and conscience.

“This unlawfulness that Dr. Küni has been exposed to must be ended immediately”.

İHD: It is unknown what he has been charged with

İHD in its statement stated that İHD Hakkari Branch Chair İsmail Akbulut is still in custody in Hakkari Security Directorate but not allowed to meet his lawyer and couldn’t be learned of what he has been charged with.

“Detention of human rights defenders in these conflict times is unacceptable.

“We demand release of İsmail Akbulut and other detained NGO representatives, and urge Hakkari Security Directorate and Prosecutor’s Office to comply with the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders”. (AS/TK)