Report: Aslı Erdoğan expected to meet lawyers today

In the interview aired on Aug. 19, journalist Osman Okkan said lawyers was only be able to allowed to meet Erdoğan, a daily Özgür Gündem Publishing Consulting Committee member and columnist, on Aug. 19 due to “OHAL [state of emergency] laws.” 

Some 22 journalists and staff detained in Aug. 9 raid on the offices of pro-Kurdish daily Özgür Gündem in Istanbul were released on Aug. 18 without charge.

Experiencing health problems while under detention, Erdoğan was taken to a hospital. While the reason for Erdoğan’s illness was not disclosed, sources have said she was taken back to the police station after her treatment.

“As a matter of fact, at the moment, Aslı Erdoğan’s situation is being taken care [through] a lot of channels. I do not want to talk about all of these channels and mention them,” Okkan was quoted as saying by DW as saying. 

Okkan recalled how Erdoğan has “physically been fragile and has been suffering from various illnesses.”
“She absolutely and constantly needs medication. People are trying to get them too her,” Okkan said.

“Her lawyers will only be able to meet her, 48 hours later, in line with OHAL law, that is to say on Friday [Aug. 19]. But news came through that her situation is better than last night. Of course, we do not have an opportunity to directly confirm to what extent this is true, but we have to settle for this news,” Okkan said.