News/ Deniz Doğan
News: In Izmir, there has been a significant development in the case involving the death of 86-year-old Fatma Uraz at a private nursing home in 2018. In the case of Uraz, who died from burns sustained after bathing, the sentences of two nursing home employees have been finalized, while an arrest warrant issued for the nursing home doctor has brought the legal process to the public’s attention. Following the finalization of the sentences of the two nursing home employees tried in connection with Fatma Uraz’s death, Dr. Naciye S. (57), who was employed at the nursing home, is now on trial in another ongoing case related to the incident.
Dr. Naciye S., who is being prosecuted for “causing death by negligence,” has not attended the hearings since February 2024, and her statement could not be taken. Therefore, the court decided to issue an arrest warrant on the grounds that the defendant’s address could not be determined and she was not present at the hearings.
Following this decision, the public raised significant legal questions about how the legal process would proceed and what would happen to the case if the doctor could not be apprehended.
LEGAL PROCESS ASSESSED BY EXPERT MEDIATOR ATTORNEY SERKAN ÖZKAN!
Journalist Deniz Doğan sought the opinion of Attorney and Expert Mediator Serkan Özkan from BEYOĞLU HUKUK to find answers to these questions in the public eye. Attorney Özkan explained in detail the possible developments in the legal process following the arrest warrant.
Lawyer Özkan summarized the steps to be taken if the doctor defendant cannot be reached for a long period of time as follows:
“Initially, the investigation will continue and the outcome of the arrest warrant issued against the doctor will be awaited. If the defendant cannot be reached for a long time or the arrest warrant cannot be executed, a mechanism provided for such situations in our law will come into play.
The case against the doctor will be separated and another case will be opened. The cases of the other defendants (if there are other parties involved besides the nursing home employees whose sentences have been finalized) will continue independently of this wait. In other words, the court does not have to wait for the doctor to be arrested for the other case to proceed. The legal process will continue without interruption for the other defendants.”
