Turkey: state of health of two imprisoned lawyers increasingly worries

The courthouse in Istanbul, Turkey (illustrative image). Ozan KOSE / AFP

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2 min

In Turkey, the state of health of two lawyers worries their colleagues and human rights defenders. Jailed for almost three years, Ebru Timtik and Aytaç Ünsal went on hunger strike several months ago. Their relatives and their colleagues say they are at the end of their tether and demand their release. They organized a press video conference on Tuesday.

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With our correspondent in Istanbul, Anne Andlauer

Ebru Timtik has refused to eat for 223 days. Aytaç Ünsal, 192 days. Sentenced respectively to thirteen and a half years and ten and a half years in prison for "belonging to a terrorist organization" in March 2019, these two Turkish lawyers denounce a prosecution. While an expert report deemed their condition too weak to keep them in detention, the courts ordered their hospitalization at the end of July.

Özkan Yücel, president of the Izmir bar, is alarmed by their state of health: “  They are hospitalized against their will in even stricter conditions than those of the prison, in an unventilated room called the“ convicted cell ” . Ebru and Aytaç are dying. If nothing is done now, the consequences will be irreversible. Their life is at stake.  ”

At the first hearing, in September 2018, the court pronounced their release, before reversing its decision, a few hours later, on appeal from the prosecution. For Mehmet Durakoglu, president of the Istanbul bar, this trial is emblematic: “  Everything in the attitude of the court points to justice under political pressure. This trial is already establishing itself as a turning point in the history of lawyers and justice in Turkey. When we look back, we will see it as a historic trial.  "

Pending a verdict from the court of cassation - their last legal recourse - the two lawyers turned to the constitutional council earlier this week to request their immediate release.

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  • Turkey
  • Human rights
  • Justice