A United Nations human rights expert said she will closely monitor the trial of Turkish physician and women’s rights defender Dr. Ayşe Uğurlu, urging authorities to drop the charges against her and reinstate her to public service.
Mary Lawlor, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, said she would follow proceedings scheduled for Wednesday and called on Turkish authorities to end what she described as prosecution linked to Uğurlu’s advocacy for women’s rights.
“I will be closely following the trial of Turkish WHRD [Women Human Rights Defender] Dr. Ayşe Uğurlu on Wednesday,” Lawlor said in a statement on social media, adding that the charges should be dropped and that Uğurlu’s dismissal from public service should be immediately revoked.
Uğurlu, a forensic pathologist and longtime human rights advocate, is being prosecuted in connection with her activism for women’s rights in Turkey.
The criminal case against Uğurlu stems from a statement she read at a May 2023 press conference organized by the Ankara Women’s Platform, a coalition of women’s rights organizations.
Prosecutors allege that parts of the statement insulted President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, an offense under Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code, which criminalizes insulting the president and carries a prison sentence of up to four years.
Authorities opened an investigation after complaints were filed over the wording of the declaration read at the event. The statement criticized government policies and what organizers described as growing pressure on women’s rights activists and civil society.
Uğurlu has denied the accusation, saying she read a statement prepared by women’s groups and that her remarks fall within the scope of freedom of expression and legitimate rights advocacy.
The incident also triggered a disciplinary investigation by Turkey’s Health Ministry, which concluded that her participation in the press conference constituted conduct incompatible with public service. She was subsequently dismissed from her position in May 2025 as a physician, a decision criticized by medical associations and rights organizations.
Medical and human rights groups condemned Uğurlu’s dismissal at the time. The Ankara Chamber of Medicine said the penalty deprived a physician who had served the public for 35 years of both her profession and constitutional rights, describing the decision as incompatible with democratic principles and the rule of law. The chamber argued that freedom of thought and expression is protected under Turkey’s constitution and international agreements to which the country is a party and called for Uğurlu to be reinstated.
The Turkish Medical Association also criticized the decision, saying Uğurlu had been dismissed simply for reading a statement issued by the Ankara Women’s Platform while representing the chamber. The association described the measure as unjust and said it would continue to stand by her.
In a joint statement issued by the Human Rights Association, the Turkish Medical Association and other rights groups, organizations said the disciplinary investigation into Uğurlu was unlawful and appeared to target her work defending human rights. The groups noted that Uğurlu, a specialist in forensic medicine, had long worked on human rights issues and had frequently been asked by authorities to provide expert opinions in legal cases.
In Turkey thousands of people are investigated, prosecuted or convicted on charges of insulting the president on the basis of the controversial Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).
