Lawsuit Against Doctor for Allegedly Telling His Alevi Patient ‘Alevis are Terrorists’

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A lawsuit has been filed against a doctor at the Medical School of İstanbul University on charge of "inciting the public to enmity and hatred."

As alleged by İbrahim Kartal, who appealed to Prof. Dr. A.Ş.D. for treatment, the doctor first asked Kartal where he was from, then he said, "Alevis have belly dancers dance in djemevis. They drink wine, these are houses of revelry. What kind of religion is that? They are all terrorists. Alevis and Kurds are [members] of the DHKP-C and PKK.* All Alevis are terrorists."

The doctor will stand trial on charge of "inciting the public to enmity and hatred" as per the Article 216/1 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).

The first hearing will be held at the İstanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court on March 3, 2020 at 9.45 a.m.

'He said, 'Berkin Elvan is a terrorist, too"'

On July 8, 2015, İbrahim Kartal entered the room of A.Ş.D. at the Medical School of İstanbul University in Çapa for a medical examination.

In his petition of criminal complaint, he shared the following details:

"After examining me, doctor A.Ş.D. sat at his desk. He asked me where I was from. I told him that I was from Sivas. He asked me 'Are you an Alevi?' I said 'Yes'. When I said it, he started uttering remarks full of slanders and insults that could not be expected from a professor.

"He told me 'Alevis have belly dancers dance in djemevis. They drink wine, these are houses of revelry. What kind of religion is that? They are all terrorists. Alevis and Kurds are [members] of the DHKP-C and PKK. All Alevis are terrorists'.

"After that, he told me, 'Berkin Elvan is a terrorist, too. There is a file, open and read it. You will learn it from there.' He also talked about Gezi incidents and said the following: 'All participants were Alevis and Kurds. They are all wine addicts and enemies of the homeland. Alevis don't like Atatürk, either.' In response, I told him that I liked [Atatürk] a lot, what he was telling me was slanders and insults, these were nothing but prejudices prevailing in the society for years and he had no right to humiliate us.

"Then, I showed him the results of my tests. He did not give me any clear information, he did not prescribe me any medicine, etc. I asked him what I was supposed to do. In an inattentive and careless manner, he told me, 'You are OK. Come to me after reading the file of Berkin Elvan, we will talk then.' He did not take care of me.

'He openly discriminated, he threw slanders and insults. And, after that, I submitted the petition of complaint no. 68309 to the Dean's Office of the Faculty against the doctor.

In his criminal complaint to the prosecutor's office, Kartal indicated that doctor A.Ş.D. hurled grave insults at both him and the society: "He committed a hate crime by discrimination. He also openly and deliberately neglected his duty by not fulfilling his responsibility to me as a doctor."

University Presidency didn't permit investigation

When the file was delivered to the İstanbul University Presidency for a permission for investigation on charge of "misconduct in office", the Presidency did not give the permission. 

While the 1st Chamber of the Court of Cassation approved the University Presidency's decision of not launching an investigation for "misconduct in office", it has ruled that a lawsuit shall be filed against doctor A.Ş.D. on charge of "publicly humiliating some part of the society based on differences of social class, race, religion, sect, gender or region."

The indictment filed against A.Ş.D. on November 20, 2019 has been accepted by the İstanbul 14th Penal Court of First Instance. (AS/SD)

* DHKP-C / PKK: Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front / Kurdistan Workers Party