Turkish Psychiatrist Alp Ayan Wins Barbara Chester Award

September 28, 2006

The CHR is pleased to announce that its nominee, Turkish psychiatrist and psychotherapist Alp Ayan, has been selected to receive the 2006 Barbara Chester Award which “honors worthy persons who undertake the difficult and often dangerous work of providing healing services in circumstances of torture.” Dr. Ayan has dedicated his professional life to the treatment and rehabilitation of torture survivors and to the development of techniques for the detection and documentation of evidence of torture. He helped to establish the internationally-respected Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFT) and has worked as a psychiatrist at its Treatment and Rehabilitation Center in Izmir since 1994.

Over the years Dr. Ayan has peacefully expressed his opinions with regard to torture and prison conditions in his country. Since 1996, Turkish authorities have repeatedly accused him of wrongdoing. Named as a defendant in 41 cases, he has been acquitted in all but two instances, often following lengthy trials and numerous court appearances. At this time Dr. Ayan is appealing guilty verdicts in the two cases that remain pending against him before Turkey’s Supreme Court. If the convictions are upheld, he faces prison sentences totaling three years and one day.

More detailed background on Dr. Ayan’s case is provided in the case summary.