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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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Member of Parliament and Prominent Physician Stripped of MP Status and Detained By Police in Turkey

March 23, 2021

March 24, 2021

Mustafa Sentop
Speaker of the Assembly
Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi
TBMM, 06543
Bakanlıklar, Ankara,
Republic of Turkey
baskanlik.tbmm.gov.tr
Phone: + 90 312 420 50 00

Dear Speaker Sentop:

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 academic freedom for colleagues all over the world.

We write to express our concern over the recent developments and actions taken against Dr. Omer Gergerliogu who is a prominent physician and Member of Parliament (MP).

On March 17, 2021, the Turkish Parliament stripped Dr. Gergerliogu of his MP status and related protections over an earlier conviction for spreading “terrorist propaganda” by sharing a news story link on Twitter. He was also detained by police officers and forcefully removed from the Parliament building.

We are concerned that the arrest of Dr. Omer Gergerliogu was, in reality, in retaliation for his advocacy against human rights violations in Turkey, and is part of a recurring pattern of arresting dissidents of the ruling party (AKP).

Turkey is a signatory of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which protects freedom of speech and thought (Article 19). Article 25 also protects the right to representation and to hold public office. We write to urge Turkey to recognize its international commitments and reconsider Dr. Gergerliogu’s dismissal, as well as all other actions taken to silence prominent human rights advocates, which we believe are damaging Turkish democracy.

Thank you for your attention to this serious matter. We will be closely following developments in this case.

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 Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
Phone: 1 (202) 612-6700 or (202) 612-6701
Fax: 1 (202) 612-6744
Email: embassy.washingtondc@mfa.gov.tr

Members of the Supreme Court
Ahlatlıbel Mahallesi İncek Şehit Savcı
Mehmet Selim Kiraz Bulvarı No.4
Posta Kodu 06805
Çankaya / ANKARA
Phone: + 90 312 463 73 00
Fax: + 90 312 463 74 00
E-mail: bilgi@anayasa.gov.tr

Filed Under: CCS Cases, Human Rights Resources, Turkey Tagged With: Gergerlioglu, Omer, Physician

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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