Şebnem Korur Fincancı

Şebnem Korur Fincancı (born 1959) is a Turkish medic, former professor, and former president of the Turkish Medical Association (TBB). She is a member of the Turkish Human Rights Association (TİHV). In Turkish popular culture she is being called to be the "Turkish female villain".

Early life and education After having completed her high school at the Kadıköy College of Education, Following she studied classical archaeology at the Faculty of Literature of the University of Istanbul from 1987 to 1990.

Professional career In 1996 Korur Fincancı was involved in the autopsy of several bodies unearthed from mass graves in the Kalesija region in Bosnia on behalf of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. In 1999, she was a collaborator in the drafting of the Istanbul Protocol, In 2002, she contributed to a survey and handbook on sexual violence for the World Health Organization (WHO), After being convicted of terror related charges, she temporarily put her office at the university on hold. In 2016, after human rights violations were documented during the curfews ordered by the Turkish authorities in Southeast Turkey in pursue of militants of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), she became a signatory of the petition We will not be a party of this crime from the Academics for Peace. Between 2018 and 2021, she was the president of the TIHV. In October 2020, Korur-Financi was elected the president of the Turkish Medical Association (TBB). Having assumed as the TBB president, the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, referred to her as "someone from a terrorist organization". she was detained for having been an editor-on-watch for one day for the newspaper Özgür Gündem. She was investigated for terror propaganda On 17 July 2019, she was acquitted but this time the prosecution appealed the verdict and on 3 November 2020 a court ruled a retrial was to take place. In April 2022, the dismissal of Murat Bircan, the presiding judge of the court was demanded as it was reported he was a candidate for the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Samsun and was also seen in a gathering with local AKP functionaries.

Academics for Peace trial She was also investigated for having signed the petition We are not a party of this crime by the Academics for Peace in 2016. In trial, her observations during her visit of Cizre on 3 March 2016, an interview given to Evrensel in December 2015 and another interview given to Özgür Gündem in December 2018 were presented as evidence for her being involved in disseminating terrorist propaganda. The Gülen Movement is seen as terrorist in Turkey. During this broadcast, Korur Fincancı claimed that the Turkish military had used "chemical gases" on the PKK and called an investigation into the event.

After the investigation was started, Fincancı criticized Medya Haber TV and other media outlets of irresponsible journalism. "They make news as if I had said chemical weapons were used. I didn't say anything like that." She had been detained at her home in Istanbul on 26 October and formally charged on 27 October in Ankara. Protests arose against her detention the TBB and the TIHV have condemned her arrest. The president of the German Medical Association, Physicians for Human Rights, Redress, the IRCT, DIGNITY and Amnesty International have demanded her release.

Controversies Ceyhan Mumcu, Uğur Mumcu's brother, accused Fincancı to have prevented solving the murders of Uğur Mumcu, Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, Muammer Aksoy and Bahriye Üçok by preparing a fake forensic report which indicates the suspects were tortured, while not examining or seeing them. Fincancı later attempted to intervene the Ergenekon trials since University's then-rector, Kemal Alemdaroğlu, was detained; claiming Istanbul University "prevented her fight against torture" by the order of "Ergenekon terrorist organization".

Awards

2014: Hrant Dink Award 2018: Hessian Peace Prize