The Executive Committee of the Academic Council at Duke University expresses its deep concern about the prison sentence issued in Turkey to Dr. Ayşe Gül Altinay. An internationally-renowned professor at Sabanci University, Dr. Altinay received her doctorate in Cultural Anthropology from Duke in 2001.
On May 23 Professor Ayşe Gül Altınay, Sabanci University in Istanbul, was sentenced to 25 months in prison for “willingly and knowingly supporting a terrorist organization as a non-member”. She is one of the 700 academics who have been or are still on trial for signing the statement “We will not be a party to this crime” in response to the intensification of warfare in South Eastern Turkey and called for a peaceful resolution of the Kurdish conflict.
It is with great shock and distress that we hear of our colleague from the University of Sabanci, Ayse Gül Altinay’s sentencing to 25 months in prison for ‘willingly and knowingly supporting a terrorist organisation as a non-member’.
It is with great shock and distress that we hear of our colleague from the University of Sabanci, Ayse Gül Altinay’s sentencing of 25 months in prison for ‘willingly and knowingly supporting a terrorist organisation as a non-member’ after her fourth judicial hearing. She is one of over 1200 Academics for Peace who three years ago signed a statement in which they called for an end to violent state-sponsored persecution of Kurdish citizens of Turkey. GEARING Roles stands in solidarity with Ayse Gül Altinay, Professor of Anthropology and Director of Sabancı Univers
Ayşe Gül Altınay, Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Gender and Women’s Studies Centre at Sabanci University in Istanbul, Turkey, and editorial board member of the European Journal of Women’s Studies, has been sentenced to 25 months in prison, accused of propagandizing for a terrorist organization by signing the statement “We will not be a party to this crime”, prepared by Academics for Peace. In Turkey and elsewhere, activists and thinkers are under attack.
The Centre for Gender Research stands in solidarity with Professor Ayşe Gül Altinay
On May 23 Ayşe Gül Altınay, Sabanci University in Istanbul, was sentenced to 25 months in prison for ”willingly and knowingly supporting a terrorist organisation as a non-member.” This is because she signed the statement “We will not be a party to this crime” in support of colleagues, democracy and academic freedom.
The Turkish government is prosecuting hundreds of academics who signed a petition by a group called "Academics for Peace" advocating a peaceful solution to the Kurdish conflict. It is part of the on-going crackdown on free expression and speech in the country. A beloved academic and renowned scholar, Ayse Gul Altinay, was last week sentenced to 25 months in prison by the Istanbul 25th Heavy Penal Court. Dr. Altinay is noted for her commitment to a peaceful future for her country shaped by nonviolence, democracy, and a commitment to human equality.
Prof. Dr. Ayşe Gül Altınay, who has been working in the fields of anthropology, cultural studies and gender at Sabancı University, is one of the academics who have been charged with “propagandizing for a terrorist organization” for having signed the declaration entitled “We will not be a party to this crime” prepared by the Academics for Peace.
Our colleague Ayse Gül Altinay, Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Gender and Women’s Studies Center at Sabanci University in Istanbul, Turkey, was sentenced to 25 months in prison earlier this week. She is one of over 2200 Academics for Peace who three years ago signed a statement “We will not be a party to this crime” appealing for an end to violent state-sponsored persecution of Kurdish citizens of Turkey. The investigation in Istanbul has covered only the first 1200 signatories so far, but it might be extended to the second 1000 as well.
"Are we going to turn our pain into more violence, hate, pain and injustice, or into steps that multiply life, beauty, love, peace and justice?"
Prof. Dr. Ayşe Gül Altınay, who has been working in the fields of anthropology, cultural studies and gender at Sabancı University, is one of the academics who have been charged with "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" for having signed the declaration entitled "We will not be a party to this crime" prepared by the Academics for Peace.
