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>>
Turkish Constitutional Court Ruled that Charges Against Academics for Peace Violated Their Freedom of Expression
Ten Academics for Peace who, in 2016, signed the petition entitled “We Will Not Be a Party To This Crime,” criticizing government actions in the southeast of the country, have been acquitted of charge of “propagandizing for a terrorist organization”. The Court also ruled to pay reparations to wrongly convicted academics. Retrials based upon the ruling of the Constitutional Court have been advised ... Continue Reading>>
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute and the Anti-Torture Initiative Sent a Joint Open Letter to the President of Turkey Condemning Criminal Proceedings Against Dr. Fincanci as Well as the Conviction/Sentence
Dr. Sebnem Korur Fincanci, President of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, a world renowned expert on torture and co-author of the Istanbul Protocol (guidelines setting international standards for forensic investigations of torture) was criminally charged for signing the Academics for Peace petition and sentenced to two and a half years in prison, almost twice the amount of time given to the ... Continue Reading>>
A New Joint Petition for Omid Kokabee
CCS urges those who support the human rights of scientists to sign this petition created by Free Omid, with the support of Amnesty International, and the Committee of Concerned Scientists. It was set up with the aim of combining the efforts of institutions, organizations and every single supporter of Omid Kokabee's into a unique petition. It advocates his unconditional release from prison and will ... Continue Reading>>