Court refutes Turkish doctor's release plea in chemical arms trial

A court in Turkey refused to release a top doctor, who has been facing years of imprisonment after she demanded an investigation into the alleged use of chemical weapons by the army against Iraq's Kurdish fighters.Head of Turkish Medical Association Sebnem Korur Fincanci faced detention in October for making claims regarding chemical weapons in the media, which is considered close to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The militia had stated that it had lost its 17 fighters in attacks unleashed by the Turkish army using chemical weapons in northern Iraq's mountains and caves.

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Ankara, along with its Western allies, considers PKK a terrorist organisation which has waged a bloody insurgency, claiming thousands of lives since 1984.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had alleged Fincanci of "speaking the language of terrorism" and the defence ministry termed the allegation as "slander".

The forensic medicine expert faces imprisonment of up to 7.5 years if proven guilty of promoting "terror propaganda".

In her trial's second week, the 63-year-old doctor said to the presiding judge that comments of Erdogan have made an impartial hearing impossible.

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"The president could call me a terrorist," she said while speaking in a packed Istanbul courtroom. She added, "After this statement, how could public institutions and the judiciary make an independent ruling?"

"If I am a terrorist, I wonder what organisation I am a terrorist of. They treat me as if I am the most dangerous suspect in the world in order to influence you," Fincanci said to the presiding judge.

After the hearing ended, the doctor was sent back to jail and the next hearing was scheduled on January 11.

(With inputs from agencies)