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Middle East Studies Association of North America, Inc.
3542 N. Geronimo Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85705
520 333-2577 phone
520 207-3166 fax
Our letter calling on Turkish authorities to end the prosecution of Dr. Güllistan Yarkın over passages in her doctoral dissertation and reconsider her degree-recognition application according to transparent academic criteria.
The Committee on Academic Freedom received a response from the Istanbul Bilgi University Rector in response to our letter regarding Prof. Dr. Bülent Bilmez
Our letter expressing grave concern over İstanbul Bilgi University’s abrupt dismissal of historian Bülent Bilmez after twenty-one years of service
Our letter expressing deep concern over the reinstatement of presidential authority to appoint university rectors—a move that defies a Constitutional Court ruling and threatens academic freedom and university autonomy in Turkey.
Our letter regarding the use of violence by the police, as well as disciplinary and criminal proceedings against students, academics, and related institutions participating in protests against the pretrial imprisonment of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu following the annulment of his bachelor’s degree.
Our letter to the Rector of Bogazici University in Turkey, responding to his letter in response to our original letter of protest, dated 10 April 2024.
The Committee on Academic Freedom received a response from Professor Naci Inci, President of Boğaziçi University, to our 10 April letter regarding ongoing violations at Boğaziçi University
Our letter to President Erdoğan regarding the ongoing dismantling of faculty governance, top-down appointments of external candidates without the due search process, growing censorship and institutionalization of surveillance, as well as the rapid erosion of academic norms and standards and elimination of student life on the campus of Boğaziçi University under the authoritarian leadership of the Physics professor Naci Inci, appointed as the university rector by President Erdoğan.
Our letter to President Erdogan concerning his decision to close all universities to in-person instruction for the remainder of the year in order to house earthquake victims on the country’s campuses.
Our letter regarding the case of documentary filmmaker and Communication Professor Sibel Tekin whose filming activities focus on social injustice, social movements, and political violence, and who is prosecuted on vague terms of incrimination for her documentary filmmaking activities.
Our letter of protest to the Turkish government regarding its numerous, multifaceted interventions throughout 2022 in the internal operations, governance and staffing of Bogazici University.
Letter to President Erdoğan regarding the continuing attacks against the Boğaziçi University’s students and faculty, including police raids, securitization and militarization of the university campus, dismissals of professors through arbitrary rectoral decisions, and criminalization of peaceful academic protest.
Letter to President Erdoğan regarding the termination of the contracts of two professors at Boğaziçi University by Acting-Rector Mehmet Naci İnci, who is continuing the politically motivated campaign against Boğaziçi University’s autonomous university governance launched by his predecessor, the controversially appointed Rector, Melih Bulu.
Letter to President Erdoğan regarding the recent attacks against Boğaziçi University’s students and faculty, and the government’s politically motivated decision to alter the university’s academic structure.
Letter to President Erdoğan regarding the detention and mistreatment of Boğaziçi University students protesting against the partisan and authoritarian appointment of the university’s rector, the homophobic language and policies adopted in relation to student protesters, and the placement of snipers on the roofs of buildings adjacent to the campus gate.
Letter to President Erdoğan regarding the adverse effects of his unilateral administrative appointments to Turkey's universities resulting in the complete erosion of the autonomy of Turkey's public universities in particular, a process set in motion following the 1980 military coup but dramatically accelerated since 2016 due to emergency and presidential decrees adopted by Erdoğan.
Letter to President Erdoğan regarding his presidential decree of January 1st appointing Melih Bulu as rector of Bogazici University and the brutal police crackdown on student protests against the appointment resulting in arrests and detention of Bogazici students.
Letter to President Erdoğan regarding the detention of Cihan Erdal, a doctoral candidate at Carleton University, apparently due to his having signed a letter in 2014 addressing events in Kobane, Syria while serving as a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).
Letter regarding the restrictions on Kurdish language rights and studies in Turkey—undergraduate enrollment, research and writing in the language of study, recognition of publications towards scholarly promotion and employment opportunities for graduates
Letter regarding a new social media law in Turkey that endangers academic freedom by further expanding government censorship.
Letter regarding the case of Dr. Kayıhan Pala, a Public Health professor at Uludağ University, who faces a disciplinary investigation for sharing his scholarly views on the numbers of reported Covid-19 cases and fatalities in Bursa.
Letter regarding the case of Professor Bülent Şık whose research focuses on public health, food safety and the right to a healthy environment, and who was given a prison sentence for making public his research on industrial pollution.
Letter regarding the recent amendments made to Turkey’s Higher Education Law that enable arbitrary and unconstitutional forms of punishment against faculty and politically motivated closures of private universities.
Letter regarding recent developments affecting Istanbul Sehir University that have compromised the university’s governance and autonomy and now threaten it with closure as a result of an apparently politically motivated campaign by the Turkish government.