MP Çakırözer has visited Üstel and Düzkan in Eskişehir Prison on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, said, "On the day of the feast, we demand freedom for all journalists, intellectuals who are in prisons."
The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) MP Utku Çakırözer has visited journalist Ayşe Düzkan and Prof. Füsun Üstel at the Eskişehir Women's Open Prison.
Füsun Üstel, respected academic in history, nationalism and issues of identity, is the first of the Academics for Peace to be imprisoned for signing the “We will not be party to this crime!” petition. This ruling will likely influence the pending cases of other Academics for Peace. Despite the threat of imprisonment, Üstel stood up for her belief that condemning human rights violations or calling for peace is not a crime.
Ayse Gül Altinay, Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Gender and Women’s Studies Center at Sabanci University in Istanbul, Turkey, was one of the cooperation partners of Women’s Museum Istanbul to organise the the first Asian and European conference of women’s museums “Feminist Pedagogy: Museums, Memory Sites, Practices of Remembrance” in Istanbul in October 2018.
Imprisoned academic Füsun Üstel’s request for stay of execution has been rejected. While the upper court has also rejected the objection of her lawyers against this ruling, one of the judges has expressed a dissenting opinion, referring to freedom of expression.
Following the ongoing prosecution of academics in Turkey, whose only crime is to wish for a future without violence, we sent a letter to the Turkish Ambassador in Israel, The Turkish Ministries of Justice and Education and to other institutions demanding an end to the judicial harassment against the members of Barış İçin Akademisyenler / Academics for Peace (full letter in comments).
Academics for Peace Filiz Arıöz and Tezcan Durna have been sentenced to 1 year and 3 months in prison on charge of “propagandizing for a terrorist organization.” The pronouncement of both verdicts has been suspended.
Trial of 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, continued in İstanbul Çağlayan Courthouse today (May 30).
Examining the individual applications of 10 Academics for Peace signatory to the declaration “We will not be a party to this crime,” the Constitutional Court has postponed the meeting as the Ministry of Justice did not deliver the requested “opinion”.
Uppsala Forum on Democracy, Peace and Justice stands in solidarity with Professor Ayşe Gül Altinay
On May 21, 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.
She was an invited speaker at an Uppsala Forum event this February.
