Committee of Concerned Scientists

An international non-profit organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of our colleagues around the world.

An independent non-profit organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of our colleagues around the world.

Communications Scholar from Istanbul University Jailed As Participant in Turkish Coup

Istanbul University

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Vedat Demir, a professor from Istanbul University, was arrested along with 30 other academics and charged with membershipo in FETO/PDY, a charge he has strongly denied. Despite the fact that Demir publicly denounced the coup, he remains accused of such involvement. CCS has written the Minister of National Education of Turkey requesting an investigation of this case.

October 30, 2016

Mr. Nabi Avci
Minister of National Education
T.C. Milli egitim Bakanligi
Atatürk Bulvarı No: 98
06650 Bakanlıklar
Ankara, Turkey
Fax: 90 312 4188289
nabiayci@meb.gov.tr

Dear Minister Avci,

We are writing on behalf of the Committee of Concerned Scientists, an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for our colleagues all over the world.

We write out of concern for our colleague Vedat Demir, a communications scholar with a Ph.D. from Istanbul University who, until recently, was teaching at Istanbul University. He was arrested, along with 30 others, in July after the coup d’état attempt, and he currently remains jailed.

We believe he has been charged with membership in the FETÖ/PDY, a charge he has denied. We are troubled that, even though he publicly denounced the coup attempt on social media, he remains accused of involvement and imprisoned. We are concerned that his continued detention may instead be related to his calls in Turkish media for democratic and human rights reforms.

The right to speak freely, the right to a free press, and academic freedom are fundamental human rights protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Turkey has signed and ratified.

We write therefore to seek clarification from you as to why exactly Vedat Demir remains imprisoned, and if he has been jailed for exercising his basic human rights, we urge you to see to it that he is released immediately and unconditionally, and that his position at Istanbul University be restored.

We recognize that your government faces legitimate security concerns, but these must not be addressed at the expense of protecting fundamental human rights.

We appreciate your immediate attention to this important matter and look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich,
Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer

Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

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Who We Are

Co-chairs

Joel L. Lebowitz, Rutgers University

Walter Reich, George Washington University

Eugene Chudnovsky, Lehman College

Alexander Greer, Brooklyn College

Vice-chairs

Biology – Max E. Gottesman, Columbia University

Chemistry – Zafra Lerman, MIMSAD Inc.

Computer Science – Rachelle Heller, The George Washington University

Engineering – Philip Sarachik, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering

Computer Science – Jack Minker, University of Maryland, College Park

Mathematics – Simon Levin, Princeton University

Honorary Board Members

Nancy Andrews, Duke University

Myles Axton, Chief Editor, Genetics and Genomics Next

David Baltimore, California Institute of Technology*

Alan J. Bard, University of Texas

David Gross, University of California, Santa Barbara*

James Langer, University of California, Santa Barbara

Peter Lax, New York University

Giorgio Parisi, Roma I University La Sapienza

John C. Polanyi, University of Toronto*

Stuart Rice, University of Chicago

Sir Richard J. Roberts, New England Biolabs*

Maxine Singer, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Alfred I. Tauber, Boston University

Myrna Weissman, Columbia University

Former Honorary Board Members

Jacob Bigeleisen (deceased), SUNY, Stony Brook

Raoul Bott (deseased) Harvard University

Owen Chamberlain (deceased), University of California, Berkeley

Stanley Deser (deceased), Brandeis University

Edward Gerjuoy (deceased), University of Pittsburgh

Pierre Hohenberg (deceased), New York University

Walter Kohn (deceased), University of California, Santa Barbara*

Louis Nirenberg (deceased), New York University

Marshall Nirenberg (deceased), National Institutes of Health*

Myriam Sarachick (deceased), City College of New York

Harold Scheraga (deceased), Cornell University

Sylvan Schweber (deceased), Brandeis University

Steven Weinberg (deceased), University of Texas, Austin*

Rosalyn S. Yalow (deceased), Mount Sinai School of Medicine*

* Nobel laureate

Committee of Concerned Scientists

c/o Alexandra R. Bender, Executive Director
P.O. Box 273
Mountainhome, PA 18342
abender@concernedscientists.org