Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül has permitted the Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK), Turkey’s top judicial body, to launch an investigation into a prosecutor who allegedly had police officers detain a medical doctor because he refused to treat him, local media reported on Tuesday.
Following Gül’s authorization, the HSK’s first chamber started an investigation into prosecutor Mehmet Bülbül and appointed an inspector to examine the claims regarding Dr. Kemal Gökhan Günel’s arbitrary detention.
According to the claims cited by Turkish media, Bülbül went to the orthopedic unit of Osmaniye State Hospital in southern Turkey for a follow-up examination. He entered Günel’s examination room without asking for permission, introduced himself and asked the doctor to examine him.
The doctor reportedly told Bülbül that he shouldn’t have come into the room while he was treating another patient, also informing him that he should see the doctor who started his treatment.
The prosecutor then reportedly instructed the police over the phone to detain the doctor. When police officers arrived, members of the hospital administration and Günel’s colleagues stood in front of his room in an attempt to prevent police officers from detaining him. The doctor then went to the Osmaniye police station himself to give his statement.
Releasing a written statement on Monday, Osmaniye Chief Public Prosecutor Ahmet Tekne said that although Bülbül reminded the doctor that he had an appointment, Günel refused to treat him, left the examination room and ordered the police to take Bülbül out of the room “in an insulting manner.”
“Our Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the doctor following a complaint filed on insult charges by prosecutor M.B., who left the hospital without having an examination. The on-call doctor was released the same day after he was questioned as a suspect by our Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. Any other claims do not reflect the truth,” Tekne added.
