Herr Michael Roth

Staatsminister für Europa

Auswärtiges Amt

Werderscher Markt 1

10117 Berlin

 

Dear Minister,

I am addressing you in the matter of Dr. Yekta Uzunoglu, a Kurdish physician, writer, translator and lifelong fighter for human rights in the Czech Republic and elsewhere in the world.

I have known Dr. Yekta Uzunoglu since my medical studies at Charles University where he was a fellow student of mine.

In the past Dr. Yekta Uzunoglu became a victim of artificial prosecution, during the process he spent long time in custody, longer than permitted by the Constitution, in inhuman conditions. It took 13 years before he was able to clean his name, when he won in the trial. He got the highest compensation ever in the history of Czech justice. I have been familiar with Dr Yekta Uzunoglu’s activities for the Kurdish nation and I also know the history of his prosecution in the C.R.!

His articles and publications, some of which were published in Czech on the portal “Nová republika” (New Republic) where I am the editor-in-chief, are the thorn in the eye of contemporary undemocratic Turkey. During the past three years Turkey has imprisoned many German and French journalists, and even and American priest, even if it was a violation of international law. Even the US President Donald Trump had to get engaged in public before he was able to get the American citizen out of the Turkish prison. It is also generally known that Turkey keeps misusing the Interpol to pursue journalists and writers who criticize Turkey, even at the time when they are in foreign countries. The last case was when Turkey got a German writer arrested when he was on holiday in Spain. He was not released until German intervention. 

Now I learnt that Turkish authorities issued an arrest warning on Dr Yekta Uzunoglu, for three reasons (as the file material says), i.e.: 1 He put on his Facebook some photographs taken during visit to Syria 2 His visit to Iraq together with journalists of Ministry of Defense of the CR 3 Cartoons concerning the murder of the President of the Bar Chamber of his native town.

To point 1: Jaromír Štětina, the MEP who was accompanied by Mr. Uzunoglu during his journey to Syria has expressed his opinion on that. To point 2: Ministry of Defense press officers can express their opinion to that if the Ministry will be asked for a statement. To point 3: I state that it is absurd to pursue anyone because of a cartoon on Facebook, as hundreds of thousands of Facebook users could be pursued for the same reason!

Mr. Yekta Uzunoglu never met any terrorists and never helped them, in spite of that he is blamed for that by Turkish authorities. Dear Minister, it is likely that Turkish authorities will try to misuse the Interpol also in case of Mr. Uzunoglu and get him arrested by the Czech Police, like they did last year in case of another Kurdish politician, Mr. Salih Muslim, which threatened the reputation of the Czech Republic in the world.

 Mr. Uzunoglu is a citizen of the German Republic! He got the citizenship while he was in custody in Ruzyně in 1996 after being unlawfully arrested, as even the court of the CR stated. It was delivered by your colleague form SPD Bernhard von Grünberg together with employees of BDR Embassy in Prague.

I urge you, dear Minister, to take all necessary steps to prevent any affect on the rights                 of Mr. Uzunoglu under the pressure of Turkey”.

Prague, March 25, 2019

MUDr. Ivan David, PhD.,

Former Minister for Health                                                                                                                 

Former Member of Parliament of the Czech Republic for Czech Social Democratic Party               

Former Head of the Psychiatric Hospital in Prague-Bohnice