Paris Bar Association: Aytaç Ünsal detained again
Statement in support of lawyer Aytac Ünsal by the Paris Bar Association, calling for immediate release of their colleague in Turkey....
Aytaç Ünsal detained again
Aytaç Ünsal, released after 213 days of hunger strike, is again in prison. The Paris Bar Association is deeply concerned by the arrest of Aytaç Ünsal on December 10, 2020.
Aytaç Ünsal was arrested on September 12, 2017, accused alongside 13 other colleagues, then sentenced last year to more than 10 years of prison for "belonging to a terrorist organization".
Aytaç Ünsal had started a hunger strike in February 2020 with his colleague Ebru Timtik to demand a fair trial. An Istanbul court refused in July to release Ebru Timtik and Aytaç Ünsal, despite a medical report indicating that their state of health no longer allowed them to remain in prison. A similar request was also filed in August with the Constitutional Court, without success. Instead of being released, they had been transferred to two different hospitals.
After 238 days of hunger strike, Ebru Timtik died on August 27, 2020 and the Court of Cassation ruled on September 4 to release Aytaç Ünsal and suspend his sentence on medical grounds.
However, on November 23, the police raided the house where Aytaç Ünsal was being treated. His belongings were searched by a dozen people in defiance of the most obvious health rules in this time of pandemic and vis-à-vis a person with a very weakened immune system. Under these conditions, it was impossible for Aytac Ünsal to continue his care and treatment in this house.
Left in this context to be treated in Edirne, the Turkish authorities decided to brutally arrest him on December 10, 2020, baselessly citing a risk of absconding. The Paris Bar is particularly shocked by the conditions of arrest of Aytaç Ünsal, injured in particular in the face during the intervention of the security forces.
The Paris Bar Association recalls that according to the reports of forensic medicine, the state of Aytaç Ünsal's health does not allow him to be kept in detention.
The Paris Bar emphasizes that Aytaç Ünsal's conviction remains suspended by decision of the Court of Cassation and therefore requests his immediate release.
(English translation)
Paris Bar Association
11 December, 2020
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