‘Aysel Tuğluk’s treatment must begin without delay’

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Shortly after the İstanbul Forensic Medicine Institution issued a report concluding that Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) former MP and Vice Co-Chair and Democratic Society Congress (DTK) former Co-Chair Aysel Tuğluk "could stay in prison", her lawyers have submitted an objection.

Speaking to bianet, Serdar Çelebi, an attorney for Tuğluk, says, "When the attitudes of the Forensic Medicine Institution in the past are considered, we are not surprised by this result. But given Tuğluk's illness, it was a decision that we should have been surprised about."

The report has indicated that "the execution of her [sentence] can continue in prison conditions by enabling her to receive treatment and regular medical checks at the polyclinic at recommended intervals."

Lawyer Çelebi says that they have both submitted an objection to the General Assembly of the Forensic Medicine Institution and they are making initiatives to ensure that an alternative report can be issued.

'Specialist doctors examined her in Kocaeli'

Lawyer Serdar Çelebi underlines that the report issued by specialist doctors in Kocaeli province, where Aysel Tuğluk is held in the Kocaeli Prison, concluded that she "could not stay in prison on her own".

"She was also examined by people specialized in their fields at the Kocaeli Forensic Medicine Institution," he says, briefly adding:

"They made her undergo a detailed examination and issued a report indicating that she could not stay in prison alone. They gave this report based on several criteria such as health conditions, the treatment process, the current stage of the illness and suitable environment for treatment.

"And the İstanbul Forensic Medicine Institution has made a different decision. Given a report of 'he or she can stay in prison' by the Forensic Medicine Institution before, several ill prisoners lost their lives either in prison or right after they were released from prison.

"Specialists examined her and came to a conclusion in Kocaeli as well. There is no finding of the İstanbul Forensic Medicine Institution indicating that those doctors misdiagnosed or made a misjudgment. They have no objections that the diagnosis in Kocaeli was deficient or wrong.

"They have just referred to that report and expressed a different opinion without making a detailed analysis themselves."

'They know the truth, too'

Lawyer Çelebi says that they objected to the upper board about the İstanbul Forensic Medicine Institution's report: "We will exercise all our rights about legal processes. But the passage of time causes a delay in her treatment. It perhaps decreases the possibility of stopping the illness."

Serdar Çelebi also recalls that Tuğluk and her family do not want to make a statement about the details of her illness:

"She and her family have some sensitivities about the details of her illness. But her treatment in a healthy environment is of vital importance to ensure that the illness does not progress. The ones who gave the negative report at the İstanbul Forensic Medicine Institution know this truth as well."

What happened?

On December 29, 2016, when she was the Vice Co-Chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Kurdish politician Aysel Tuğluk was arrested along with seven other politicians from the Democratic Regions Party (DBP) and the Democratic Society Congress (DTK).

The indictment filed against Tuğluk, who was the DTK Co-Chair till September 2014, brought her statements to the press as well as the funerals that she attended as criminal evidence against the politician.

On March 16, 2018, the Ankara 17th Heavy Penal Court sentenced Aysel Tuğluk to 8 years in prison as per the Anti-Terror Law (TMK) no. 3713. Increasing this prison term by half, the court then gave a 12-years prison sentence to the politician. Lastly, it has decreased this prison sentence by one sixth and ruled that she shall be sentenced to 10 years in prison.

As Aysel Tuğluk's appeal to the Ankara Regional Court of Justice was rejected, her file was sent to the Court of Cassation.

About Aysel Tuğluk

Politician.

She was the founding member and Co-Chair of the Democratic Society Party (DTP) and elected Diyarbakır MP in 2007-2009. She became the Van MP of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in 2011-2015. She served as the Vice Co-Chair of the HDP responsible for Law and Human Rights.

Aysel Tuğluk was also a member of the Society and Law Studies Foundation Executive Board, a member of the Human Rights Association (İHD) and the founder of the Patriotic Women's Association.

Born in Elazığ in 1965, she graduated from the Faculty of Law of İstanbul University and worked as a self-employed lawyer. (AS/SD)