A new investigation against Turkish forensic expert
Prosecutors started a new investigation on Sebnem Korur Fincanci, the forensics expert who is already jailed pending trial over her remarks concerning the chemical weapons allegedly used by Turkish soldiers against the Kurdish militants in Northern Iraq, now charging her with “being a member of a terrorist organization.”
The board members of Turkish Medical Union that Dr. Fincanci leads were also subjected to the new investigation, Mezopotamya News Agency reported.
Fincanci was sent behind bars in late October with charges of "spreading terrorist group propaganda,"
She was arrested by the police after she said in an online interview that a “toxic chemical gas could have been used,” analyzing a video which allegedly showed the effects on a Kurdish militant.
"What I made after seeing the videos was an early diagnosis. An independent investigation has to be carried out in order to reach a diagnosis. This is stated in international guides," Fincanci said in her first trial last week, denying charges.
A day before her hearing, human rights groups including Amnesty International, DIGNITY, Human Rights Watch (HRW), the International Rehabilitation Council for Victims of Torture (IRCT), Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), REDRESS, and the World Medical Association published a statement calling for her release.
Fincanci’s trial will resume on Thursday.