IV. FOUR CASE STUDIES
2. Seyfettin Kizilkan, Physician

Medical professionals are by the nature of their work best placed to detect and document human rights violations, particularly torture. As a result, they often become innocent victims in the state's attempt to cover up torture. The pattern of intimidation directed at medical personnel performing forensic investigations is intended to obstruct the discovery of torture and extrajudical executions, providing impunity to those guilty of perpetuating these grave human rights violations and contributing to the perpetuation of a situation in which violations have become routine.^[21]  In addition, evidence of injuries submitted in support of complaints of ill-treatment have been rejected by courts as unacceptable where the examination was carried out by a doctor not authorized by the Forensic Medicine Institute.^[22]  As is demonstrated in the case of Dr. Seyfettin Kizilkan, doctors also risk detention and imprisonment for providing medical care to alleged guerrillas despite legal and ethical requirements to render aid in an emergency.^[23]  Doctors accused of treating guerrillas are not only charged under Article 8 but they are also accused of forming part of the guerrilla organizations itself.^[24]  In addition, opposition to torture is considered to be a political activity, and political activists are likely to be tortured.^[25] 

Seyfettin Kizilkan at the Turkish Medical Association in Ankara

Dr. Seyfettin Kizilkan is a medical professional persecuted for his work on democracy, human rights, and health problems in the southeast of Turkey. On 5 May 1996, police raided Dr. Kizilkan's home, where they allegedly found "bomb-making materials." He was charged with possession of illegal weapons and sentenced to three years and nine months in prison on 17 June 1996. At the time of his arrest, he was president of the Turkish Medical Association's Diyarbakir Medical Chamber, and chief physician of the Diyarbakir Social Insurance Organization Hospital. According to Turkish human rights and medical groups, there is reason to suspect that the evidence implicating Dr. Kizilkan was fabricated. The Turkish Medical Association issued an official statement indicating that police claims are inconsistent.^[26]  His case is currently on appeal.

A self-described liberal democrat, Dr. Kizilkan has always made an effort to show support for human rights and to practice medicine without discrimination.^[27]  As a physician working in Diyarbakir, Dr. Kizilkan has witnessed first-hand the health consequences of mass migrations of internal refugees from eastern villages to urban centers. He has had to address health care issues resulting from the conflict in the Southeast, including the interruption in health services and the inability of physicians to conduct surveys and field studies in the region. These problems have led to a major reduction in the health status of the population, poor environmental and living conditions, the prevalence of communicable diseases due to poor sanitation of water supplies, crowded living conditions, economic problems, and lack of preventive health care for displaced refugees.^[28] 

During a speech given at a banquet for the outgoing governor of Diyarbakir, who had been recalled, Dr. Kizilkan criticized the use of violence in the southeast of Turkey and advocated democratic principles. The gathering was attended by a number of government officials and may have led to his subsequent arrest and continued persecution.

At a meeting held in Ankara on 2 July 1996, Dr. Kizilkan described the following events surrounding his imprisonment to an AAAS sponsored delegation:

On 5 May 1996 at 11:00 p.m., there was a knock on my door. More than twenty people with walky-talkies entered my house at once. When I asked for a search warrant I was told that it was an emergency and they did not need one. I had no means to make them leave.

My house is only 30 meters from the National Security Agency. The street is constantly under surveillance by secret cameras. They kept my family away from their activities. My children were very distressed. They said a bomb was found on a balcony that overlooks the National Security Organization. One of the policemen told me that they found an explosive. When I asked to see it they would not let me. They said they would call an explosives expert. He arrived just a few seconds later and had apparently been waiting there. The expert said that he had diffused the bomb. Not knowing where the bomb had come from, I thanked him for saving the lives of my children who were studying in the room next to where the bomb was found.

I was then informed that there was a note written to me found in the bag with the bomb. It stated that someone would be picking up the bomb. The note had a PKK stamp on it. I asked them to take my fingerprints to demonstrate that the bomb was not mine, but they refused. I then asked why I would have saved the note if I had presumably read it.

They then prepared a search protocol and took me away. They found two licensed guns in my house, mine and my brother's. I asked if my brother could bring the licenses to my house. I later learned that my brother was stopped on his way over and that the licenses had been destroyed. The police also allegedly found some "illegal papers." The set-up was thus completed.

I was taken to a center, blindfolded and kept in a cell for two days. I was not subjected to physical violence. In the early hours of 7 June, they took a deposition from me. I denied everything they were claiming and stated that it was a set-up. Then I was taken to the state hospital at 2:00 a.m. for a medical examination. They told me that I would be taken to court the next morning and they took me to headquarters on the fourth floor at 3:00 a.m. At around 2:00 p.m. they told me that the fourth page of my testimony had been ripped up. I said, 'let me see it again.' When I read it, I saw that they had not written what I said. Instead they wrote incriminating things. I said that I would not sign it. They shouted that I would either sign or spend 20 days in prison. I said I would not sign it now or in 100 days. Instead of signing, I wrote that I would not sign the testimony and that I denied what it said. I signed that statement. They took pictures of me with the alleged evidence. They gave the pictures and other statements to the press saying that they had caught a terrorist. Since the press knows me, they wrote that I had been framed. At 6:00 or 7:00 a.m. they decided to send me to Diyarbakir D Type Prison. I was taken to court for the second time. There were some observers from international organizations. The trial lasted a long time. During one session I was convicted to three years and nine months in prison. I also was released and given the right to appeal the case in the Supreme Court. In court, I denied their allegations and asked them to take my fingerprints. The police officers contradicted each other and were not well prepared. The thing that showed it was a set-up was the arrival after one minute of the bomb expert. The explosives expert said he took ten minutes to arrive. A third guy supported my statement that it had only taken one or two minutes.

The Seventh Army Division sent a letter thirteen hours before the bomb was found with a photograph of the bomb. This was sent from the army division to the police station. They are the highest military officials in Diyarbakir. The letter says that the photograph depicts the documents and articles found by the Seventh Division at my house and to please inform them after a decision is made.

There also are problems with the fifth page of my testimony. They changed the paragraph and inserted it into the page. That paragraph looks darker and has a different typeface than the others. In addition, only one of the rooms in my house and my balcony were searched.

I was sentenced and the case was sent to the Supreme Court. I applied to get my job back. But I will not be reinstated as the chief physician, and I am being paid only two-thirds of my original salary. My right to keep my position as chief physician was denied. I also was transferred and suspended at the same time. Even if I am acquitted, I do not know if I will get my job back. This was imposed by the General Director of Social Security under the Ministry of Health. The State Security Court will prepare a statement and the 9th division of the Supreme Court of Appeals will decide on my case.

According to Dr. Kizilkan and the Turkish Medical Association, he was targeted because of his beliefs and his stand on democratic principles. He has worked ceaselessly, as general secretary of the Diyarbakir Medical Chamber, to promote human rights and democracy. Dr. Kizilkan's arrest is regarded as an intimidation tactic against those striving for democracy in the region. The attempt against Dr. Kizilkan can be considered an example of what may befall the people in the region whose behavior and attitudes are deemed by the state to be threatening.^[29]  According to the Turkish Medical Association, this is the first time that someone of Dr. Kizilkan's social and professional standing has had such charges brought in Diyarbakir. The arrest and filing of charges are reportedly intended to send the message that nobody is untouchable.

Huriye Hanim, Security Director of Diyarbakir, told a AAAS delegation that Dr. Kizilkan is a wolf in sheep's clothing and that police have been following him for years. He further accused Dr. Kizilkan of providing medical support for the PKK and claims that the bomb was placed on the porch by a militant who came for treatment. In Turkey, when a PKK member shows up in a doctor's office the doctor is obligated to inform on them, no matter what the malady.^[30] 

Dr. Kizilkan and his family have been forced to leave Diyarbakir due to fear for their safety.

Dr. Kizilkan has previously been detained twice. He was detained for the treatment of a patient with hemorrhoids who was taken into custody six months later. The patient was accused of membership in the PKK. Although detained for three days, the doctor was not taken to court. In 1993, he was accused of membership in an illegal organization based on the accusations of a nurse who stated that Dr. Kizilkan arranged for the treatment of patients from the mountains. She later retracted her statement. In court, she stated that she had been forced to provide a statement and had no idea whether or not he treated guerrillas. He was acquitted by the Supreme Court for lack of evidence.

Governmental actions taken against Dr. Kizilkan for his vocal criticism of the violence taking place in the Southeast and his advocacy of democratic principles are in clear violation of international treaties to which Turkey is a State Party and therefore legally bound.

Dr. Kizilkan's persecution for allegedly treating members of the PKK and the government's insistence that he inform officials if treating such patients are in clear conflict with his medical ethical obligations under the International Code of Medical Ethics (World Medical Association 1949, 1968, and 1983), which states that "a physician shall preserve absolute confidentiality on all he knows about his patient even if his patient has died."^[31]  In addition, according to the Regulation in Time of Armed Conflict adopted by the World Medical Association in 1956, "the fulfillment of medical duties and responsibilities shall in no circumstance be considered an offense." The Regulation adds that, "the physician must never be prosecuted for observing professional confidentiality."^[32] 

Dr. Kizilkan is just one of many physicians experiencing the consequences of practicing medicine in the emergency zone. His social standing and ties to parliamentarians in Ankara may have protected him from the more severe retribution experienced by other physicians in the area. Physicians and health professionals working in the emergency zone have been killed, tortured, imprisoned, internally exiled, and legally sanctioned in the course of conducting their professional duties and meeting their ethical obligations.^[33]