After 238 days of hunger strike, Turkish lawyer Ebru Timtik died Thursday August 27 in a hospital in Istanbul, her office announced on Twitter.
Read also: Paris and Berlin are struggling to agree on Greco-Turkish tensions
Ebru Timtik was sentenced in 2019 to more than 13 years in prison for " belonging to a terrorist organization ". She was on strike, alongside her colleague Aytac Ünsal, to demand a “ fair ” trial . The two lawyers said they "would persist in their hunger strike even if it were to result in their death ."
High-profile cases that harmed power
The two lawyers were from People's Law Office, known for their work on high-profile cases, such as that of Berkin Elvan, 15, who died during protests in Gezi Park after being hit in the head by a tear gas canister fired by a police officer, says Front Line Defenders, which supports human rights defenders.
The firm also represented Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça, two educators fired from their posts after the attempted coup of July 15, 2016. The 14 lawyers from the People's Law Office were arrested two days before the educators' trial, which was due to begin September 14, 2017.
" In Turkey, we kill lawyers in prison "
At the beginning of August, Özkan Yücel, president of the Izmir bar, was alarmed by the state of health of the two lawyers with RFI: “ They are hospitalized against their will in even stricter conditions than those of the prison, in an unventilated room called the "condemned cell". Ebru and Aytaç are dying. If nothing is done now, the consequences will be irreversible. Their life is at stake. ”
On the news of Ebru Timtik's death, many French lawyers expressed their support for the deceased. " May she rest in peace after this ordeal ", wrote Me Caroline Mecary. " In Turkey, lawyers are killed in prison, " responded Me Martin Pradel. “ The truth is that a lawyer should not be confused with the cause of his client, that he has the right to defend whomever he wants without being blamed. Turkey does not want to understand it ”, published for his part Me David Lévy.