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Discouraging collaborations between SOAS and the Turkish Council of Higher Education (YÖK)
Letter acknowledging SOAS for cancelling an event organized by the Turkish Council of Higher Education (YÖK) and calling upon SOAS and other reputable institutions to refrain from collaborating with YÖK as long as the current climate of repression for academics persists in Turkey.
Continued prosecution and imprisonment of scholars of signatories of “Academics for Peace Petition”
Letter regarding recent developments in the prosecution and specifically imprisonment of scholars who signed the declaration “We will not be a party to this crime”—commonly referred to as the “Academics for Peace Petition.”
Recent developments concerning the prosecution of Peace Petition signatories and targeting of scholars
Letter regarding recent developments in the prosecution of scholars who signed the declaration “We will not be a party to this crime”—commonly referred to as the “Academics for Peace Petition”—as well as the ongoing targeting of scholars whose research exposes threats emanating from the Turkish government’s policies in areas such as public health and environmental regulation.
SUNY Collaboration with Turkish Council of Higher Education (YOK)
Letter protesting joint SUNY-YOK discussion.
July 8th Emergency Decree 701 Removing 206 Academics and 52 Administrators
Letter to President Erdoğan regarding the July 8th Emergency Decree (KHK 701), which resulted in the dismissals of 206 academics at 63 public universities and 52 administrators from 24 public universities in Turkey from their positions.
Students detained and arrested over antiwar protest at Boğaziçi University
Letter to PM Yıldırım concerning the Boğaziçi University students who were detained and arrested over their peaceful antiwar protests.
New emergency decrees (KHK) 695 and 696
Letter to PM Yıldırım and President Erdoğan concerning the two new emergency decrees (KHK) 695 and 696 issued on 24 December 2017 in the Official Gazette, the first of which terminates the positions of 105 academic personnel from 36 universities and the second of which provides legal immunity to civilians who engage in violence under certain circumstances.Başbakan Yıldırım ve Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan'a hitaben, 24 Aralık 2017'de Resmi Gazete'de yayınlanarak 36 üniversitede 105 akademisyenin görevine son veren 694 sayılı Kanun Hükmünde Kararname (KHK) ve bazı eylemlere şiddet yoluyla müdahale eden sivillerin cezai sorumluluğunun kaldırılmasını öngören 696 sayılı KHK hakkında yazılmış mektup.
Issuance of an arrest warrant against Professor Henri Barkey
Letter to PM Yıldırım concerning the issuance of an arrest warrant against Professor Henri Barkey.Başbakan Yıldırım'a hitaben, Henri Barkey hakkında çıkan yakalama kararı hakkında yazılmış mektup.
New indictment issued against Peace Petition Signatories
Letter to PM Yıldırım and President Erdoğan concerning a new indictment issued against Peace Petition signatories at Istanbul universities who now face 7.5 years in prison, if convicted.
Council of Higher Education preventing scholars from participating in a conference on the Armenian Genocide
Letter regarding the Council of Higher Education preventing scholars from participating in a conference on the Armenian Genocide.
More terminations and displacement for Turkish academics
Letter to PM Yıldırım and President Erdoğan concerning the two new emergency decrees (KHK) 693 and 694 issued on 25 August 2017 in the Official Gazette, the first of which terminates the positions of 120 academic personnel from 27 universities and the second of which creates the framework for forcibly transferring academics restored to their positions following earlier purges to universities other than those where they originally held positions prior to their dismissals.
Termination of 302 academic personnel in 50 universities (KHK 692)
Letter to PM Yıldırım and President Erdoğan concerning the new emergency decree (KHK) 692 issued on 14 July 2017 at the Official Gazette, that terminated 302 academic personnel in 50 universities.
Deportation of foreign students and staff at Fethullah Gulen universities
Letter to PM Yıldırım and President Erdoğan concerning the deportation of foreign students and staff in closed Fethullah Gulen universities.
TÜBİTAK memo asking for removal of dismissed academics from editorial and review boards
Letter to PM Yıldırım and President Erdoğan regarding a memo issued by the Turkish Council for Scientific and Technical Research (TÜBİTAK) on March 17, 2017, addressed to peer reviewed scientific journals listed under the National Academic Network and Information Center (ULAKBİM). The memo asks journals to remove any members who have been dismissed, suspended, and/or banned from public service on the basis of their alleged affiliation with terrorist organizations from their editorial and review boards. The memo is emblematic of the most recent wave of attacks against academic freedom in Turkey.
Deteriorating conditions for Turkish academic and teacher on hunger strike following terminations
Letter to Turkish officials regarding the deteriorating conditions of an academic, Nuriye Gülmen, and a teacher, Semih Özakça, who have been on hunger strike in protest of their terminations without process by emergency decrees.
Another wave of terminations from recent emergency decrees
Letter concerning April 29th Emergency Decree 689 removing 484 academics and 98 administrators from their university positions.
Dismissal of two faculty at Boğaziçi University
Letter to PM Yıldırım concerning the dismissal of two faculty members of Boğaziçi University (Istanbul) by the Higher Education Council of Turkey (YOK) on the basis that they are signatories to the petition with the title “We will not be a Party to this Crime”.
Incarceration of nearly 1000 students
Letter to PM Yıldırım regarding incarcerated students in Turkey, numbering close to 1000, and the alarming deterioration in conditions of their detention. Credible reports suggest that evidence for terrorism-related charges is weak, while students are subjected to lengthy detentions as pre-trial punishment.
Peaceful protesters experience excessive police force and detention
Letter to PM Yıldırım regarding the excessive police force at Ankara University targeting peaceful protesters and the subsequent detentions that occurred at a demonstration on 10 February 2017 protesting the dismissal of academics en masse from the university. The dismissal was direct result of the emergency decree issued on 7 February 2017, Kanun Hükmünde Kararname (KHK) 686, which resulted in the dismissal of 330 academics in general, 95 of which were from Ankara University.For information on Rector Erkan İbiş’s violations of academic freedom at Ankara University see our letters dating 12 January 2017, 3 November 2015, and 12 December 2012. For more on the emergency decree KHK 686, see our letter dated 8 February 2017.
More Termination of Academics at 49 Universities
Letter to Turkish PM Yıldırım regarding the February 7th Emergency Decree (KHK 686) removing 330 academics from their positions at 49 public universities in Turkey.
KHK 677 Removing 242 Academics
Letter concerning November 22, 2016 Emergency Decree 677 removing 242 academics (including public health specialists) from their university positions and terminating the right to education for students who are incarcerated or held in pre-trial detention.
January 6th Emergency Decree 679
Letter concerning January 6th Emergency Decree 679 removing 631 academics from their university positions, including Peace Petition signatories and left-leaning faculty from some of Turkey’s best established universities
Repression of Ankara University Rector
Letter to PM Yıldırım regarding violations of academic freedom by Ankara University Rector Erkan İbiş—a nuclear medicine specialist, including the initiation of over 60 frivolous disciplinary investigations, and his apparent collusion with the government in securing the subsequent termination by emergency decree of Ankara University faculty. The faculty terminated by recent emergency decrees are those that he had previously targeted with disciplinary investigations for publishing critical research findings deemed undesirable by the government or for using social media to advance criticisms of his administration or the Turkish Higher Education Council or actions by the Turkish government.Başbakan Yıldırım’a hitaben, Ankara Üniversitesi Rektörü ve nükleer tıp uzmanı Erkan İbiş’in akademik özgürlük ihlalleri ile hükümet ile işbirliği içerisinde kanun hükmünde kararnamelerle ihraç ettiği anlaşılan akademisyenlere istinaden yazılmış mektup. Kanun hükmünde kararnamelerle işten atılan akademisyenlerin bir çoğu, Rektör İbiş tarafından daha önce haklarında, eleştirel çalışma, duruş veya yayın konuları ve/veya sosyal medyada ve başka mecralarda hükümet politikalarını, üniversite yönetimini veya Yükseköğretim Kuru