JINHA

ISTANBUL – Fatma Tokmak, a Kurdish woman who had developed severe heart problems in prison after being tortured by Turkish security forces, is expected to be on the operating table today.

Prison officials have been deliberately denying medical treatment to Fatma, who was convicted based on a confession that she signed under torture and which she could not read. Prison wardens "lost" a report from doctors calling for Fatma's release for medical treatment. It remained missing for over a year.

Fatma was able to reach her niece Reyhan Özbin today by telephone. She said that while her surgery was originally planned for Thursday, the lack of a doctor on Thursday has meant that her surgery has been rescheduled for today.

Fatma's lawyer, Fatma Özdemir, said that because guards will only allow Fatma to be transported in a military vehicle that is currently not available, they are still waiting for transportation to the hospital.

(dk/mg/cm)