Following this post is a PETITION from the Mathematics Department of Lyon 1 University for Tuna Altinel. Please add your name. Here is a link to that petition: https://math.univ-lyon1.fr/petitionTunaAltinel/en/free-tuna-altinel/
Tuna Altinel is a mathematics professor at France’s Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University. He was arrested last weekend in Turkey and accused of “propagandizing for a terrorist organization”. The arrest was presumably caused by his participation in a meeting in France devoted to peaceful solution of Turkish conflict with the Kurds. Dr. Altinel is a signatory of the 2016 Academics for Peace petition, and is being tried for that, but this arrest seems not to be related to his ongoing trial.
On February 21st, Altinel allegedly attended a meeting of the “Amitiés Kurdes de Lyon”, a French organization that raises awareness about the plight of the Kurds. At this meeting, the film Cizîr Djizre Cizre was projected, and a Turkish politician Faysal Sarıyıldız, who is a member of the Turkish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), gave a talk. HDP advocates peace between the Kurds and the Turks. While it remains legal in Turkey, many of its politically active members have been accused of “propagandizing for a terrorist organization” and sentenced to prison terms.
On February 28, Altinel was in Turkey for a court date for his ongoing trial, and then returned to France. On April 12, he took another trip to Turkey, for the holidays, and his passport was confiscated on entry. He was taken into custody on May 10 while he was applying to have his passport re-issued. The Turkish consul in France, Mehmet Özgür Çakar, told the Agence France Presse that Altinel was arrested for participating in the February meeting in Lyon, which was “a total propaganda in favor of the PKK”.
At this time, over 150 Turkish academics that signed the 2016 peace petition have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from 15 to 36 months, but only a few have been actually imprisoned, awaiting the decisions of the Appeal Court. The case of Dr. Altinel stands out because at the time of his arrest and imprisonment he was not officially sentenced by the Turkish Court.
People are being encouraged to write individual letters to Tuna. Address for the correspondence is:
(Even if your letter doesn’t make it to the cell, it will help its door grow thinner.)
• Address:
Professor Tuna Altınel
T.C. Adalet Bakanlığı Balıkesir L-Tipi Ceza İnfaz Kurumu E10
Camicedit Mah, Pirinçlik Mevki No:18, 10660 Kepsut/Balıkesir
TÜRKIYE
• Don’t know what to write?
Selam/Merhaba Tuna,
Hapsedildiğini öğrendim.
Bil ki yanındayım.
(Roughly: Hello/Hi Tuna // I learnt about your arrest // I’m standing with you.)
The Mathematics Department of Lyon 1 University has composed the attached PETITION. Please add your name:
https://math.univ-lyon1.fr/petitionTunaAltinel/en/free-tuna-altinel/
