ISTANBUL, TURKEY
Conscientious objector, a person who refuses to partake in the involuntary military service, and Animal Rights Watch Coordinator Burak Özgüner was found dead this morning at his home in Istanbul.
Özgüner’s body was transported to the Forensic Medicine Institute in Yenibosna.
A case was opened against Özgüner for his conscientious objection. Özgüner, who came before the judge for the first time within the scope of the lawsuit filed before the Konya Criminal Court said that his accounts were frozen and that he faced many pressures after he declared his conscientious objection.
Özgüner had previously said, “Even if I get acquitted from this case, I am threatened to be tried and punished again and again ”.
Özgüner, who is also an animal rights defender, was fighting for the adoption of a law against animal violence. Özgüner was also known for his struggle for the mules slaughtered by the invading Turkish Armed Forces in the village of Roboski in the Qileban district of Şırnax in 2011. Upon the announcement of his conscientious objection in 2015, the military branch launched an investigation against Özgüner and sent the file to the prosecutor’s office.
After the prosecution prepared an indictment against Özgüner, a lawsuit was filed at the Konya Criminal Court.
