Prominent medical doctor and human rights advocate Dr. Ayşe Uğurlu has been dismissed from public service following an investigation for allegedly insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Sendika Haber news website reported.
The Ministry of Health’s Inspection Board launched a disciplinary investigation into Uğurlu for “acts incompatible with the dignity of public service,” under the Civil Servants Law and sought her dismissal from public service. The alleged offense was her participation in a press conference on May 24, 2023 where she read a statement on behalf of the Ankara Women’s Platform.
The statement had criticized the erosion of women’s rights in Turkey and warned of the country’s growing authoritarianism.
Following the decision for her dismissal, Uğurlu said she had simply exercised her constitutional right to express her thoughts.
“I was investigated for allegedly insulting the president simply because I read a statement at the Ankara Women’s Platform’s press conference. The content of the statement clearly falls under the constitutional right to freedom of thought and expression. The investigation was launched because I uphold the values of good medical practice and advocate for human rights, women’s rights and democracy. We will begin legal proceedings. I will return and continue to practice medicine.”
Uğurlu’s dismissal sparked an outcry from human rights organizations and women’s rights activists.
The Ankara Chamber of Medicine said another had been added to the growing list of human rights violations in Turkey.
“The dismissal penalty that deprives Dr. Uğurlu — who has served the public for 35 years in line with the values of good medical practice and who has long contributed to her country and to the field of human rights — of her profession and constitutional rights is incompatible with democracy and the principles of a social state governed by the rule of law. Freedom of thought and expression is guaranteed as a fundamental human right by our constitution and the international treaties to which Turkey is a party. Dr. Ayşe Uğurlu, as a citizen, a woman, a physician, and a human rights defender, must be reinstated to her position,” the chamber said.
In a social media post, the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) condemned the decision. “Our former executive board member Dr. Ayşe Uğurlu was unjustly and unlawfully dismissed from her position for reading the Ankara Women’s Platform press statement as a representative of the Ankara Chamber of Medicine. Ayşe Uğurlu is not alone! We will stand by her in her struggle,” it said.
A joint statement by the Human Rights Association, the TTB and other human rights organizations issuedearlier this week said the disciplinary investigation was “unlawful.”
“As the institutions undersigned below, we declare that the accusations against Dr. Ayşe Uğurlu — a physician and forensic medicine specialist who has served her country, professional organization and the field of human rights for many years — are unlawful. In fact, due to her sensitivity, expertise, experience and work in the field of human rights, she is frequently appointed by authorities to consult on legal cases. We emphasize that it is unacceptable for Dr. Ayşe Uğurlu to be subjected to a dismissal investigation simply because she defends human rights and freedoms, and particularly because of her advocacy for women’s and children’s rights.”
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).
