AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

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AAAS Human Rights Action Network

FACTS OF THE CASE:

Two representatives of the Adana torture treatment center of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, Mustafa Cincilic a lawyer and Tufan Kose a physician, faced trial for the fifth time on 17 January 1997. Mustafa Cincilic faces 3 to 6 months in prison under Article 530, "failure to notify authorities about a crime." Tufan Kose may be fined under Article 526, "operating an unlicensed health clinic." As in previous trials, no decision was handed down. The trial was rescheduled for 21 February 1997.

Although indications were given that a decision would be handed down during the 17 January trial, it was again rescheduled due to the judges request for the original version of a report from the Ministry of Health, which was submitted in copy form by the Foundation in November. The report presents the Ministry of Health's findings following an inspection of the Foundation's Adana center. The document states that the Foundation's center does not fall under rule 1219 which applies to health clinics.

The case against the Foundation is believed to be politically motivated, as it was initiated upon the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by a secret letter written on 29 January 1996. In previous trials, the Court has demanded the center's medical records, including confidential records from victims of torture, and the names of individuals who have collaborated with the center. The Foundation has refused, citing physician-patient confidentially in its defense.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment made a public statement on 6 December 1996, something which is rarely done, regarding its several visits to Turkey throughout 1996. The Committee reported that "resort to torture and other forms of severe ill-treatment remains a common occurrence in police establishments in Turkey. To attempt to characterize this problem as one of isolated acts of the kind which can occur in any country -as some are wont to do- is to fly in the face of the facts."

The Committee's report underscores the crucial need for torture treatment facilities in Turkey to operate without governmental interference and with guarantees that medical ethical standards will be respected.

The Adana court's demands that the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey turn over its medical files represents a serious breach of internationally accepted standards of medical ethics which protect physician-patient confidentiality. The confidentiality of this relationship is codified in the World Medical Association's 1948 Geneva Declaration, which states:

I [the physician] shall respect the secrets which are confided in me.

In addition, the continued persecution of Human Rights Foundation of Turkey representatives for the documentation of incidents of torture violates international human rights standards, including the right to free speech, which is guaranteed under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ratified by Turkey in 1948).

Source of information for this case include AAAS staff attending Foundation trials, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, and the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey.)

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Please send telexes, telegrams, faxes, or airmail letters requesting that the Turkish government:

• Drop all requests for the Foundation's medical files on the grounds that they fall under the protection of physician-patient confidentiality; and
• Drop all charges against the Foundation and its representatives.

APPEAL AND INQUIRY MESSAGES SHOULD BE SENT TO:

President Necmettin Erbacan
Office of the President
Cumhur Baskanligi
06100 Ankara, Turkey
Fax: 011 90 312 468 5026


Adalet Bakanligi
Minister of Justice
Adalet Bakanligi
06559 Ankara, Turkey
Fax: 011 90 312 417 3954

COPIES SENT TO:

Ambassador Nuzhet Kandemir
Embassy of the Republic of Turkey
1714 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036


Ambassador Marc Grossman
Embassy of the United States of America
Ataturk Blvd.
PSC 93, Box 5000
Ankara, Turkey
APO AE 09823
Fax: 011 90 312 467 0019

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