Haiser Jemilev’s Doctor: He Should Be Kept in Mental Hospital Instead Detention Facility

30 May 2013

After the repeated statements of the leader of Crimean Tatar people, MP of Ukraine Mustafa Jemilev about mental problems of his son who underwent treatment in one of the prestigious hospitals in Istanbul and who killed Fevzi Edemov by recklessness,QHA could contact Haiser Jemilev’s doctor from Istanbul Dr Yasin Gench.

QHA: The accidence occurred – Haiser Jemilev killed a man. Why do you think this happened?

– Our patient had a mental disorder, paranoia and detachment from reality. We call it a psychosis. This disorder can be treated with medication, but it could return in cases of termination of a treatment or wrong taking of medicines. A psychosis like pancreatic diabetes is a chronic disease. The illness returns if the patient stops taking drugs. The patient could have hallucinations and assess the situation in a wrong way.

He suffered from this disease and took medicines. It seems like he stopped taking medicines or took them occasionally and the illness returned. The cases when this kind of patients stop taking medicines are quite often. I think that the disease returned due to irregular medication taking.

QHA: Haiser Jemilev is presently kept in detention facility. Could this kind of patients send to prison?

– Sending him to prison is not right. If a person was ill he should be examined first.

In cases when a person that commits the crime has serious mental disorders, as in Haiser’s case, he has to be sent to the mental health facility. The mental health facility and his doctors will evaluate the situation and probably he could be kept there until his condition becomes stable.

The practice shows that after that he will have to take medicines for the rest of his life.

QHA: How these kinds of cases are treated in Europe?

– In such cases the special commission is created. It consists of a group of psychiatrists and makes a range of tests and institute therapy. After that they watch for a certain period of time if the patient is really sick or not. Only after that they make the medical conclusion. According to this conclusion the decision is made will this person to be subjected to the criminal responsibility or will be kept under smb’s guardianship.

QHA: Will his keeping in detention facility instead the hospital affect his disease?

– He has to be kept in prison under the observance of the psychiatrist. They have to watch for his medication taking. You see, a sane person couldn’t do this. Such people suffer from skepticism and paranoia. They are afraid that someone could cause them injury. They could have hallucinations or injure themselves or his surrounding. Keeping in prison could affect negatively even on a healthy person. It is very likely that Haiser Jemilev could suffer seriously from keeping in prison.

QHA: What should be done?

– I think he has to be sent to the mental health facility where he has to undergo the examination.

Asibe Ibadulaeva
QHA