Turkey's jailed educators get examined on 140th day of hunger strike with request of ECHR
On the 140th day of their hunger-strike which they started to demand their jobs back, the two dismissed and jailed teachers in Turkey, Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça, were taken to Ankara’s Numune Hospital for a medical examination.
According to report of Şeyma Paşayiğit from Cumhuriyet, authorities decided for the educators to get examined after the request of European Court of Human Rights, which was issued after the lawyers of Gülmen and Özakça referred their request for the educators to be released to the ECHR following the rejection they had received from Turkey’s Constitutional Court.
Human rights defender Fincancı: 'This is a protest; not a suicide'
Esteemed human rights defender in Turkey and a physician, Şebnem Korur Financı, commented on the health risks of a hunger-strike that is prolonged and said: “Organs and tissues shrink. And, that causes increased risks of catching diseases as the immune system gets damaged. When we look at previous cases of hunger strikes, we see that some died due to epidemics. Tissue damage takes place in the brain and complications in muscles also rise”. Mentioning that the damage of these complications can be lessened if B1 vitamin is used during the strike, Fincancı added: “This is a protest and they (Gülmen and Özakça) do not expect to die; it is not a suicide. It is a method of protest people resort to when they think they have no other way to make their voices heard. In long hunger-strikes, there could be damage on brain tissue. They remain conscious but they’ll eventually face difficulties”.
14 demonstrators in Ankara taken into custody
A group of Turkey’s Communist Party members who gathered in front of the Grand National Assembly were attacked by police and 16 TKP members were taken into custody on Wednesday (July 26).
Before the intervention of the police, the representatives of the group had given a statement, saying: “If AKP and the person leading it think they can run this country as if it’s their father’s farm, they are seriously mistaken. We warn the government. You’d get crashed under the malignancy if something happens to Nuriye and Semih. This is a fight for bread and dignity. Reinstate firstly them and then all other laborers who have been dismissed unlawfully. You cannot win in this battle!”
Source: https://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/gulmen-ve-ozakca-numune-hastanesi-nde-muayene-edildi-171842.html