Tuna Altinel, a Researcher-Professor at French University Claude Bernard Lyon-1, was arrested for having attended a public meeting in Villeurbanne organized by the Association “Armities Kurdes” on February 21, 2019. The charges were dismissed by the Balikesir Court in February 21, 2020 but the prosecutor appealed this decision. Mr. Altinel is unable to leave Turkey and return to his job at the ... Continue Reading>>
French Professor Acquitted And Released From Turkish Prison, Passport Still Not Restored
Professor Tuna Altinel from the University Lyon-1 in France was acquitted on appeal of all charges. However, his freedom of travel has not been restored by the passport authorities on grounds that it must first be reviewed by the court. Thus, he is unable to continue his employment until the court renders a decision. CCS has written the court requesting that they expedite this matter and ... Continue Reading>>
Turkish Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist and Former Rector Acquitted
Dr. Murat Tuncer, a pediatric oncologist and former rector of Hacettepe University, was acquitted on March 19, 2020. He is internationally respected for his academic activities and contribution to cancer research. Dr. Tuncer was in charge of the collaboration between Turkey’s Ministry of Health with the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and was ... Continue Reading>>
Turkish Government Plans Large Prisoner Release, Excludes Political Prisoners
The Turkish government is planning a release of almost 90,000 prisoners due to the escalation of Covid-19 in Turkey which would seriously affect the inmate population, and also would serve to reduce the extreme overcrowding In Turkish jails. However, political prisoners, who include professors, opposition party members, civil servants, judges, attorneys, journalists, human rights activists, and ... Continue Reading>>
Academic for Peace Petitioners’ Status
Many of the Academics for Peace signees have gone to court with the following outcomes: Constitutional Court Cases The Court upheld the objection of the ten defendants and declared that the petition was legitimately within the domain of freedom of speech on July 26, 2019 Fusun Ustel Ibrahim Garip Yasemin Gulsum Acar Ayda Rona Aylin Altinay Cingoz Melda Tuncay Izzeddin Onder Canan ... Continue Reading>>
Petition Launched in Support of Dr. Bülent Sik
On February 18, scientists and academics around the world initiated a petition calling for the conviction of Dr. Bülent Sik to be overturned. Dr. Sik, a food engineer who until 2016 worked with Turkey’s Ministry of Health while a professor at Akdeniz University, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for releasing findings of a study linking environmental factors and cancer cases. The petition ... Continue Reading>>
Tuna Altinel Acquitted of Charges at Final Hearing in Turkey
Tuna Altinel, Associate Professor of Mathematics at Lyon-1 University of France, has been acquitted of “membership in a terrorist organization” at his final hearing. Altinel had been found not guilty in a previous hearing, but when he went to inquire about the status of his passport he was re-arrested due to charges imposed by the prosecutor. No travel ban has been issued to Altinel, but his ... Continue Reading>>
Former Professor of Fatih University Sentenced to 9 Years In Prison – Still in Jail
Ahmet Metin Sekizkardes, a former journalist and professor of Fatih University was arrested in July 2016 on charges of being a member of an armed terrorist organization. He was convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison and is still confined. The charges appear to be unsubstantiated. Fatih was one of the top private universities in Turkey and closed by the government after the failed coup ... Continue Reading>>
Former Rector of Turgut Ozal University Still In Jail After Three Years
Abdulkadir Sengun was the Rector and Professor of Turgut Ozal University. He was arrested following the July 16 attempted coup and charged with being a member of an armed terrorist organization. He was sentenced to more than eight years in prison. Turgut Ozal University was one of the schools that the current Turkish administration closed. His relationship to the school seems to be the basis for ... Continue Reading>>
Serkan Golge and Ismail Kul Released But Still Not Home
Two American academics that were released from prison in Turkey, after being imprisoned for charges they did not commit, are still not allowed to depart Turkey to return home. Serkan Golge, a former NASA scientist, and Ismail Kul, a professor at Widener College in Pennsylvania, have been released from prison but Turkish officials continue to withhold their passports and require them to report to ... Continue Reading>>