Committee of Concerned Scientists

An international non-profit organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of our colleagues around the world.

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CCS Requests Charges Be Dismissed Against Serdar Kuni, Imprisoned for Treating “Militants” In Turkey

December 24, 2017

Dr. Serdar Kuni was sentenced to 4 years in prison for what appears to be providing medical care to those in need, as required of all physicians.  Dr. Kuni is the representative in Cizre of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey.  He has been released pending his appeal, but what is required is that he be released and charges be dropped.

December 23, 2017

Mr. Bekir Bozdağ
Minister of Justice
Adalet Bakanlığı
06659 Ankara, Turkey
Fax: +90 312 419 33 70
Email: ozelkalem@adalet.gov.tr

Dear Minister Bozdag:

The Committee of Concerned Scientists is an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world.

We write to express our concern for Dr. Serdar Küni, who has been sentenced to over 4 years in prison for what appears to be nothing more than providing medical assistance to those in need, as all doctors around the world are ethically obligated to do. As the representative in Cizre of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, Dr. Küni is a widely respected medical professional. While we welcome the fact that he has been released pending his appeal, we urge that your government review this case and reconsider its advocacy – we encourage you to do the right thing and release Dr. Kuni, dropping all charges.

Dr. Küni was arrested on October 19, 2016, and charged with “providing treatment to (alleged) militants”. This charge itself forces physicians not to do the very thing they are required to do by their Oath as a medical professional – provide care where needed and do no harm.  The trial that followed did not meet international fair trial standards, as it included the use of anonymous witnesses and testimony obtained by the use of torture.

Turkey has an international obligation to protect, not prosecute, medical professionals, including in situations of armed conflict, and to respect the principle of medical neutrality. We urge your government to right the wrongs committed in this case and allow the illegitimate conviction of Dr. Serdar Küni to be overturned.

We thank you for your attention to this most serious matter, and we look forward to receiving your response.

Sincerely,

Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

cc:
Ambassador Serdar Kiliç
Embassy of the Republic of Turkey
2525 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington DC 20008
Phone: 1 202 612 6700 OR 202 612 6701
Fax: 1 202 612 6744
Email: embassy.washingtondc@mfa.gov.tr
Twitter: @TurkishEmbassy

Filed Under: CCS Cases, Turkey Tagged With: Kuni, Physician, Serdar Kuni

Who We Are

Co-chairs

Joel L. Lebowitz, Rutgers University

Paul H. Plotz, M.D., Washington, DC

Walter Reich, George Washington University

Eugene Chudnovsky, Lehman College

Alexander Greer, Brooklyn College

Vice-chairs

Astronomy – Arno Penzias, New Enterprises Associates*

Biology – Max E. Gottesman, Columbia University

Chemistry – Zafra Lerman, MIMSAD Inc.

Computer Science – Rachelle Heller, The George Washington University

Computer Science – Jack Minker, University of Maryland, College Park

Engineering – Philip Sarachik, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering

Mathematics – Simon Levin, Princeton University

Medical Sciences – J. Joseph Blum, Duke University

Honorary Board Members

Nancy Andrews, Duke University

David Baltimore, California Institute of Technology*

Alan J. Bard, University of Texas

Jacob Bigeleisen (deceased), SUNY, Stony Brook

Raoul Bott (deceased), Harvard University

Owen Chamberlain (deceased), University of California, Berkeley

Stanley Deser, Brandeis University

Edward Gerjuoy, University of Pittsburg

David Gross, (2004 Nobel Prize in Physics), Kavil Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara*

Pierre Hohenberg (deceased), New York University

Walter Kohn (deceased), University of California, Santa Barbara*

James Langer, University of California, Santa Barbara

Peter Lax, New York University

Louis Nirenberg, New York University

Marshall Nirenberg (deceased), National Institutes of Health*

Honorary Board Members

John C. Polanyi, University of Toronto*

Stuart Rice, University of Chicago

Sir Richard J. Roberts, (1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology & Medicine), New England Biolabs*

Myriam Sarachick, City College of New York

Harold Scheraga, Cornell University

Sylvan Schweber (deceased), Brandeis University

Maxine Singer, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Alfred I. Tauber, Boston University

Steven Weinberg, University of Texas, Austin*

Myrna Weissman, Columbia University

Rosalyn S. Yalow (deceased), Mount Sinai School of Medicine*

* Nobel laureate

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