33rd Heavy Penal Court Combines Files of 11 Academics

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Trials against signatories of Academics for Peace's declaration entitled "We will not be party to this crime" continued today (June 19) in Çağlayan at Istanbul Courthouse 33rd Heavy Penal Court.

Third hearings of Hülya Kirmanoğlu, Haydar Durak, Fatma Nihan Aksakallı, Yusuf Doğan Çetinkaya, Ahmet Bekmen, İrfan Keşoğlu, İlkay Yılmaz from İstanbul University, Erol Katırcıoğlu from Marmara University, Seçkin Sertdemir, F.A.A. and Gözde Aytemur from Galatasaray University were held.

Ruling to combine the files

The court combined 11 hearings that were held today in the file of Seçkin Sertdemir. Earlier a committee from İstanbul 29th and 35th Heavy Penal Courts combined the files of academics. With that, the number of courts which combined the files increased to three.

The next hearing of the combined case will continue on October 17 at 10 a.m.

What happened?

On January 10, 2016, 1,128 academics published a declaration entitled "We will not be party to this crime" on behalf of the Academics for Peace initiative. With the participation of further academics, the number of academics who have signed the declaration has reached 2,212.

With the indictment issued by the Prosecutor İsmet Bozkurt, lawsuits were filed against the academics on charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" as per the Article No. 7/2 of the Turkish Anti-Terror Law No. 3713.

As of June 19, 2018, 254 academics had stood trial since December 5, 2017. 15 of these academics were sentenced to 1 year and 3 months in prison and all of the sentences were suspended, except for that of Prof. Dr. Zübeyde Füsun Üstel from Galatasaray University and Prof. Dr. Büşra Ersanlı from Marmara University. The penalties of Prof. Dr. Üstel and Prof. Dr. Büşra Ersanlı were not deferred on the grounds that "she did not demand deferment of the announcement of the verdict and that she did not make a statement of penitence."

On March 10, 2016, the Academics for Peace made a statement for press and shared with the public what they had been going through since the declaration "We will not be a party to this crime" was published. The academics Dr. Lecturer Esra Mungan, Dr. Lecturer Muzaffer Kaya, Assoc. Prof. Dr Kıvanç Ersoy (March 15, 2016) and Dr. Lecturer Meral Camcı (March 31, 2016), who read out the above-mentioned statement for press, were arrested on charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" as per the Article No. 7/2 of the Turkish Anti-Terror Law. They were released on April 2016. Upon the request of the Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Justice granted a permission of trial as per the Article No. 301 of the Turkish Penal Code No. 301 on charges of "insulting the Turkish Nation, the State of the Republic of Turkey and the institutions and organs of the government." The lawsuits still continue. (BK/TK)