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.

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Gulmen and Ozakca Began Hunger Strike to Protest Dismissal as Academics.  Shortly After, They Were Arrested.

July 27, 2017

Nuriye Gulmen (Scholar) and Semih Ozakca (Primary School Teacher) were dismissed from academic positions in November 2016 and began protesting their dismissal. In March 2017 they began a hunger strike and two  months later were charged with “membership in a terrorist organization” and “propaganda for a terrorist organization.”  CCS understands that, due to their hunger strike, their health has seriously deteriorated and they require medical attention.   CCS urges Turkish authorities to release both Gulmen and Ozakca.

July 20, 2017

Mr. Bekir Bozdağ
Minister of Justice
Adalet Bakanlığı
06659 Ankara, Turkey
Fax: +90 (0)312 419 33 70
Email: ozelkalem@adalet.gov.tr

Dear Minister Bozdağ:

The Committee of Concerned Scientists is an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world.

We write to express our concern for scholar Nuriye Gülmen and primary school teacher Semih Özakça. They have been detained at Sincan prison since May 23, solely for exercising their right to peaceful protest.  We are concerned that their health is “deteriorating rapidly” due to their ongoing hunger strike. It has been reported that they have become “so weak that their mobility has been severely affected.”

Both were dismissed from their jobs in November 2016, with no reason given, and have since been protesting that dismissal, as is their right. They began their hunger strike on March 9, and two months later were indicted on the charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “propaganda for a terrorist organization”.

They are two of the over 100,000 public sector workers, many of them academics, who have been fired from their jobs without cause or explanation. As scientists and scholars, we are profoundly concerned with the treatment of academics, as well as the widespread disregard for basic human rights. We urge you to release Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça without conditions and without delay, and allow them their fundamental right to peacefully protest and expression of their beliefs.

We also urge you to ensure that they receive any necessary medical treatment from independent medical professionals.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and we look forward to receiving your response.

Sincerely,

Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

cc.:
Ambassador Serdar Kiliç
Embassy of the Republic of Turkey
2525 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington DC 20008
Phone: 1 202 612 6700 or 1 202 612 6701
Fax: 1 202 612 6744
Email: embassy.washingtondc@mfa.gov.tr
Twitter: @TurkishEmbassy

Filed Under: CCS Cases, Turkey Tagged With: Academics, hunger strike, Nuriye Gülmen, Scholars, Semih Özakça, Sincan prison, Turkey

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

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