A Turkish lawyer demanding a fair trial after being charged with membership of a terrorist organization has died in an Istanbul hospital on the 238th day of her hunger strike.Friends said Ebru Timtik weighed just 30 kilogrammes (65 pounds) at the time of her death, which has sparked condemnation from opposition parties in Turkey.“Ebru Timtik, who has been on hunger strike for 238 days demanding fair trial, became a martyr!” the People's Law Bureau, a leftist lawyers' organization mainly focused on Turkey's political cases, announced on Twitter late Thursday.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Timtik was a member of the Contemporary Lawyers' Association (CHD), another leftist group accused of having close ties to the outlawed Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), a far-left Marxist organization.The DHKP-C has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly attacks in Turkey, including a 2013 suicide bombing at the US embassy in Ankara, which killed a Turkish security guard.In 2019, an Istanbul court handed multiple sentences to 18 lawyers, including Timtik, on charges of “forming and running a terror group” and “membership in a terror group.”Timtik, who had been initially detained in September 2018, was sentenced to 13 years and six months in prison, which prompted her and some other lawyers to start a hunger strike in February.She had been jailed in Silivri - a huge court and prison complex on the outskirts of Istanbul.Last October, an appeals court unheld the lawyers' jail sentences.Read more:Executed Turkish general exposed misuse of Qatari funds for Syria extremists: ReportUS welcomes home NASA scientist after 3-year imprisonment in Turkey for ‘terrorism’Turkey gave Hamas members passports: ReportHunger strike in Turkish prisonTimtik, who turned her hunger strike into a death fast together with another lawyer, Aytac Unsal, was moved from the prison to a hospital in July.The pair were consuming only liquids and vitamins, and a forensic report showed at the time that their condition was “not suitable” for a continued stay in prison.A few dozen people were waiting Friday outside an Istanbul forensic lab which was examining her body.Police heightened security measures around the building, according to an AFP reporter.The death of Timtik, who friends said was born in 1978, has been condemned by opposition parties.“Ebru Timtik was massacred by the tyrants in power!” Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) lawmaker Garo Paylan said in a tweet.Turkey has in the past seen hunger strikes launched by left-leaning political groups.Last year, thousands of prisoners ended their hunger strike against the conditions of jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan around 200 days after launching their fast.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Turkish lawyer Ebru Timtik dies on hunger strike after 238 days
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Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: UAE reports 390 new cases, one COVID-19 death
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Confronted with various problems at home, including deepening financial woes, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan resorts to aggressive and expansionist foreign policy moves to consolidate his support base through fueling nationalism.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Is Erdogan trying to split NATO with his East Med gambit?
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Source: Al Monitor
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Source: Al Monitor
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Egypt arrests Muslim Brotherhood leader in Cairo
Egyptian security forces arrested Mahmoud Ezzat during a raid on an apartment east of Cairo.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Egypt arrests Muslim Brotherhood leader in Cairo
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The move means the national regulator will be able to act this year if a vaccine arrives.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: UK moves to fast-track coronavirus vaccine if safety tests passed
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Lebanese novelist Dima Abdallah won the prestigious French prize “Envoyé par La Poste” for the year 2020 for her first novel “Mauvaises Herbes” (Bad Weeds), which narrates events of the Lebanese civil war through the eyes of a young girl and her father..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Lebanese writer wins prestigious French prize for first novel
The Iraq Report: Anti-corruption activists assassinated with impunity
A series of prominent figures, from academics to social media influencers and political activists, are once again being targeted for assassination..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: The Iraq Report: Anti-corruption activists assassinated with impunity
Egypt arrests top Muslim Brotherhood leader 'after seven years on the run'
State-backed media celebrated news of his capture, describing him as a 'prize catch' and publishing images of a frail-looking Ezzat wearing a striped T-shirt..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Egypt arrests top Muslim Brotherhood leader 'after seven years on the run'