E/CN.4/1999/61/Add.1 page 19 transferred outside the province. While the President of the TMA indicated that such pressure is less common now than some years ago, it is still reportedly significant, particularly in the east and south-east. Indeed, she identified fear of such pressure as the primary reason why doctors are reluctant to practise there. 64. The career prospects of doctors may also be adversely affected, either through some form of “exile”, as in the case of Dr. Cetin, or by failure to consider them for key appointments. For example, Dr. Sebnen Korur was proposed to the Ministry of Justice by the TMA when the appointment to the post of President of the CFM was being made. Her appointment was refused, allegedly as a consequence of her involvement in the production of “alternative medical reports” by the TMA. On the other hand, doctors who prove willing to issue false certificates are apparently protected by the authorities, even when they are the subject of disciplinary measures by their professional organization. For example, Dr. Nur Birgen, the Chairperson of the 3rd Specialist Board of the CFM, has been banned from professional activities for six months by the TMA and is currently being prosecuted for issuing false certificates concerning seven persons detained in July 1995. In spite of this, the Ministry of Justice has not suspended her from her duties, reportedly on the grounds that she is a civil servant whose civil rights must be protected. 65. In contrast to the consistency of such allegations, which the Special Rapporteur has found to be reinforced by the personal testimonies he received throughout his visit, the current President of the CFM expressed ignorance of the kinds of pressure exerted on doctors and denied that either she or her staff had ever been subject to such pressure, or accused of issuing false reports. She did, however, concede that there was a need to address the issue of transfer of medical certificates from the doctor to the public prosecutor, and informed the Special Rapporteur that a new practice was to be introduced within the week whereby certificates would be placed in sealed envelopes and mailed by the doctor to the public prosecutor or, in the event that the doctor hands certificates to the police for delivery to the public prosecutor, the envelopes would be sealed in such a way as to prevent their being opened. 3. Role of prison doctors and other prison-related concerns 66. The presence of independent physicians in prisons may have a significant dissuasive effect with respect to torture or ill-treatment within the institutions. However, as previously mentioned, medical personnel working in prisons are employees of the Ministry of Justice and therefore hierarchically subordinate to prison directors. This gives rise to claims by non-official sources that they are subject to pressure in the fulfilment of their duties, not only in issuing medical certificates for inmates, but also in deciding whether to refer them to a hospital for urgent or specialist treatment, or in making a determination that they are terminally ill. The Director-General of Prisons expressed the opinion that the relationship is not inappropriate as doctors employed in prisons are primarily engaged in preventive medicine and diagnosis, while serious cases are usually treated in hospitals. He stressed that doctors are free to determine the necessity of transfer, and that a prison director is not hierarchically superior in this respect. He also pointed out that doctors are as likely to be subjected to pressure by inmates