Appolonia Adeyemi The World Medical Association (WMA) has issued a strong condemnation about the arrest in Turkey of Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, President of the Turkish Medical Association. A statement from the WMA made available to New Telegraph stated that he was detained yesterday in Istanbul, the Turkish capital, after claims that she made comments about the use of poisonous gas against Kurds in Iraq. Chair of the WMA Council, Dr. Frank Ulrich Montgomery said: “It is totally unacceptable that Dr. Korur Fincancı has been detained and that members of the Turkish Medical Association are being threatened with suspension. “The WMA joins those who are calling for an independent investigation into reports that chemical gases were used by the Turkish authorities against the Kurdistan People’s Congress (Kongra-Gel or KGK, formerly the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK group. “These perpetual attacks on members of the Turkish Medical Association are completely unjustified.”
