Successful doctor detained by Turkish gov’t over Gülen links, commits suicide in jail, dies in hospital

Dr İbrahim Halil Özyavuz (R).

A successful medical doctor, who was detained by police and imprisoned a month ago as part of Turkish government’s massive post-coup witch hunt campaign targeting alleged members of the Gülen movement, reportedly committed suicide in notorious Silivri Prison and lost his life in an İstanbul hospital.

According to a post shared by Twitter account “Magduriyet Mesajları @magdurmesaji_tr,” which covers the systematic and widespread persecutions of the Turkish government led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on Sunday, Dr İbrahim Halil Özyavuz committed suicide in the notorious Silivri Prison two days ago and died at an intensive care unit at the Haseki Public Hospital in İstanbul on Sunday.

Dr Özyavuz was a successful radiological expert who studied at the prestigious Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty of İstanbul University and graduated as honour graduate, and became the third in Turkish national Exam on Medical Expertise (TUS). Years ago, Özyavuz’s great success at a university entrance exam had also been covered by Turkish media extensively since he was a child of a poor farmer family with seven children in Şanlıurfa province of Turkey.

Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, one of Turkey’s most prominent human rights defender and a medical doctor, has also shared the same information on Dr Özyavuz and condemned the persecution of innocent people by oppressive Erdoğan regime. Özyavuz was accused of allegedly using ByLock mobile phone application.

Turkish authorities believe ByLock is a communication tool among alleged followers of the Gülen movement. Tens of thousands of people, including civil servants, police officers, military officers, businessmen and even housewives, have either been dismissed or arrested for using ByLock since a controversial coup attempt in July 2016.

The Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF) reported in one of its studies titled “Suspicious Deaths and Suicides In Turkey” that there has been an increase in the number of suspicious deaths in Turkey, most in jails and detention centers, where torture and ill-treatment are being practiced. In the majority of cases, authorities concluded they were suicides without any effective, independent investigation.

Suspicious deaths have also taken place beyond prison walls amid psychological pressure and threats of imminent imprisonment and torture, sometimes following the release of suspects or just before their detention. SCF has compiled 113 cases of suspicious deaths and suicides in Turkey in a list in a searchable database format.

Turkey survived a controversial military coup attempt on July 15, 2016 that killed 249 people. Immediately after the putsch, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government along with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen movement.

Fethullah Gülen, who inspired the movement, strongly denied having any role in the failed coup and called for an international investigation into it, but President Erdoğan — calling the coup attempt “a gift from God” — and the government initiated a widespread purge aimed at cleansing sympathizers of the movement from within state institutions, dehumanizing its popular figures and putting them in custody.

Turkey has suspended or dismissed more than 150,000 judges, teachers, police and civil servants since July 15. On December 13, 2017 the Justice Ministry announced that 169,013 people have been the subject of legal proceedings on coup charges since the failed coup.

Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu announced on April 18, 2018 that the Turkish government had jailed 77,081 people between July 15, 2016 and April 11, 2018 over alleged links to the Gülen movement.

from Stockholm Center for Freedom https://stockholmcf.org/successful-doctor-detained-by-turkish-govt-over-gulen-links-commits-suicide-in-jail-dies-in-hospital/