The Court Dismissed the “ATO case”: Medical Profession for Humanity Is on Duty!

The court case brought by the Ministry of Health against Ankara Chamber of Medicine (ATO) for extending first aid services to injured persons during Gezi Park protests was dismissed by the court. In the third session of Ankara 23rd Civil Court which was held on 20th of February 2015, the court decided to drop the case after listening to witnesses.

 

Early in the morning, leaders of Turkish Medical Association (TTB), Ankara Chamber of Medicine, representatives of chambers of medicine, trade unions, Professional and civil society organization, guests from other countries, parliamentary deputies and individual physicians gathered in front of Ankara Court House before the session. The TTB and ATO made a joint press statement during this gathering stressing that the values of good medicine cannot be put on court trial. The joint press statement was declared to the public by ATO President Prof Dr Çetin Atasoy.

 

Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputies Aylin Nazlı Aka, Levent Gök, Mahmut Tanal, and Orhan Düzgün; Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Deputy Demir Çelik; TMMOB (Union of Chambers of Architects and Engineers) President Mehmet Soğancı; Metin Feyzioğlu, President of the Union of Bar Associations; former Çankaya Mayor Bülent Tanık; Dr Metin Bakkalcı, Secretary General of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey; Kaya Güvenç; Oya Ersoy, President of People’s Houses; Björn Hoftved representing the World Medical Association, Medical Association of Norway and Standing Committee of European Doctors and Dede Dunevant  representing the Physicians for Human Rights were among those being present to support Ankara Chamber of Medicine.

 

Visiting Turkey to follow the court case, Dede Dunevant from the Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) expressed her disappointment for seeing physicians facing such pressures as the present court case. Dunevant remarked that physicians and other health workers must be allowed to perform their duties without any concern for prosecution and retaliation. Expressing her pride for being here, Dunevant added that physicians from many parts of the world stand in solidarity with their Turkish colleagues, TTB and ATO to have this case dropped.

The full article continues at http://www.ttb.org.tr/en/index.php/tuem-haberler-blog/179-ttb/1268-atodava on the Turkish Medical Association's website.