Requests That Files at Different Cases be Combined Rejected

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Trials 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 at the 36th and 37th Heavy Penal Courts.

At the 36th Heavy Penal Court, Prof. Dr. P.Y., teaching assistants Aslı Takanay and İ.S., research assistant Bahar Şahin Fırat, Prof. Dr. Abbas Vali, Dr. Lecturer S.Y., Dr. Lecturer Günizi Kartal, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayfer Bartu Candan and Prof. Dr. M.G. from Boğaziçi University and Prof. Dr. Tahsin Yeşildere from İstanbul University had their first hearings today (May 17).

At the 37th Heavy Penal Court, research assistant Sinem Aydınlı from Bahçeşehir University also had her first hearing today.

Academics P.Y., S.Y. and Abbas Vali could not attend the hearings on the ground that they were abroad. Stating that the indictments in the files of four academics at the 13th Heavy Penal Court, the minutes of the hearings and the official letters exchanged with the Ministry of Justice had reached their court, the panel of judges of the 36th Heavy Penal Court rejected the requests for an immediate acquittal and that the cases be combined.

The next hearings of the 10 academics have been adjourned to November 20, 2018. At the 37th Heavy Penal Court, the request of Ayınlı for an additional time for her statement of defence has been accepted and her next hearing has been adjourned to November 6.

The hearings against signatory academics started on December 5, 2017. As of May 17, 225 academics had their first hearings. 13 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.

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 May 17, 2018, 225 academics had stood trial since December 5, 2017. 13 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. The penalty of Prof. Dr. Üstel was 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. (TP/SD)