The President of the German Medical Association (Bundesärztekammer-BÄK), Dr. Klaus Reinhardt, sent a letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, demanding the immediate release of President of the Turkish Medical Association Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı.

Condemning Fincancı's arrest, Reinhardt wrote: "I urge you to immediately release Professor Şebnem Korur Fincancı. The arrest of Professor Fincancı is an attack on the right to freedom of expression and medical self-government. Doctors are committed to the welfare of society as a whole. This attitude forms the core of medicine's self-image. Fincancı, like others, recognizes the fact that medical action is inextricably linked with human rights advocacy. It is the duty of every doctor to raise the issue of possible human rights violations.”

Fincancı was arrested after she called for an investigation into the alleged use of chemical weapons against the guerrillas by the Turkish army.