According to the verdict of the Prague court Uzunoglu should have tortured three persons in September 1994. But not only was his alibi confirmed by twelve independent witness accounts, even the alleged victims declared not to have been tortured ever.
Among a whole catalogue of accusations the accusation of torture is the only one not abandoned by the prosecution. When the physician and co-founder of the organization "Médecins sans frontières" (Doctors without borders) was arrested in September 1994 by a special unit of the Czech police his situation seemed hopeless: Kidnapping, threefold murder-attempt, fraud, robbery and illegal possession of weapons were pinned on him as well. Something "like Semtex" had been found in his flat according to what the investigation officer reported for the protocol.
All those suspicious facts collapsed faster than a house of cards in a gust of wind. That the accusation of torture was sustained is an evidence of incapacity of the Czech judiciary. At the same time this fact nourishes the theory of a conspiracy against Uzunoglu. Not only have the alleged victims declared several times not to have been tortured, they also have never been examined for traces of torture. In fact a forensic doctor saw injuries – but just on photos of unknown origin. In spite of all Uzunoglu was remanded in custody for two and a half years.
Powerful enemies
Hardly anyone doubts nowadays that Uzunoglu became the victim of an ample plot. One theory says Unzunoglu must have provoked leading figures of the former communist "nomenklatura". In the early 1990ies he represented the Ã…Â koda-Praha company in their effort to enter the Turkish energy market. Thus he started fishing in waters considered to be their tenancy by the old communist elite of the country. There are rumours saying the boss of the competing Ã…Â kodaexport company and former minister of foreign affairs, Jaromir Johannes, wanted to get rid of Uzunoglu in order to sign the profitable contract valuing millions himself.
Wiener Zeitung, Monday, May 21st, 2007-05-28
