Istanbul: hunger striking lawyer and activist Aytaç Ünsal released
He hadn't eaten for 213 days to demand a fair trial. The judges ordered his immediate release due to the progressive deterioration of his health. He had been sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison. The sentence is suspended until he has recovered.
Istanbul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Turkish lawyer and activist Aytaç Ünsal, who has been on hunger strike for 213 days to demand a fair trial and recognition of the rights of the defence, has been released from prison. The release took place yesterday evening following the sentence of the Court of Cassation, which ordered "the immediate release due to the progressive deterioration of health conditions".
Ebru Timiti, a lawyer at the forefront of the fight for human rights in Turkey, died last week while on hunger strike for similar demands. She had been convicted of (allegedly) belonging to a criminal organization and died due to the progressive deterioration of her health, undermined by almost 250 days of without food or water.
Aytaç Ünsal was recently hospitalized at the Kanuni Sultan Süleyman Training and Research Hospital, in Istanbul, due to the worsening of his condition. In ordering his release, the 16th Criminal Section of the Court of Cassation cited the doctors' report, according to which "the very life" of the lawyer was in danger and his conditions were not "compatible" with prison.
The judges ruled that he be released and his sentence suspended, but not cancelled.
32-year-old Aytaç Ünsal was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison for "terrorist association", which in Turkey can be imposed for belonging to an opposition party or a pro-Kurdish group. The Supreme Court decision came in conjunction with the visit of the President of the European Court of Human Rights, Robert Spano, to Turkey during which he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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21/11/2019 19:38
