Joint Request of Academics from France and Turkey: Release Tuna Altınel

Click to read the article in Turkish

"He is a first-class mathematician. He is a researcher internationally known in the fields of mathematical logic and abstract algebra. He is also an extremely devoted teacher and trainer at every level of education."

Distinguished Professor Gregory Cherlin from Rutgers University describes Assoc. Prof. Tuna Altınel, his PhD student, in these words in his letter.

Assoc. Prof. Tuna Altınel from Lyon 1 University in France is an Academic for Peace. Altınel has been behind bars in Balıkesir Kepsut Type L Prison for 75 days for doing simultaneous interpreting at a conference on "Cizre basements"* held in France in February 2019.

Assoc. Prof. Altınel will stand trial for the first time at the Balıkesir 2nd Heavy Penal Court on the 81st day of his arrest on July 30. Altınel is charged with "membership of a terrorist organization."

CLICK - First Hearing of Academic Tuna Altınel on July 30

He went to Lyon in 1996

Arrested and imprisoned in Turkey, Assoc. Prof. Tuna Altınel is an academic who has made significant contributions to the academia in universities abroad, primarily in France since 1996.

Altınel graduated from the Departments of Mathematics and Computer Science of Boğaziçi University in İstanbul. He completed his PhD studies at Rutgers University in New Jersey, with Cherlin as his doctoral advisor.

With Alexandre Borovik and Gregory Cherlin, he proved an important example of Cherlin-Zilber conjecture. Having published 26 articles in his field so far, Altınel is specialized in group theory and mathematical logic.

Judicial process in Turkey

The process culminating in the arrest of Assoc. Prof. Altınel in Turkey started in February 2019 in France. Attending a conference on "Cizre basements" in the city of Villeurbanne, he did simultaneous interpreting for former Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) MP Faysal Sarıyıldız.

In the wake of this conference, the Lyon Consulate General of Turkey took down a statement about the academic. In the statement sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey afterwards, the Consulate General requested that "a restriction be imposed on the passport o the academic and the necessary legal action be taken against him."

Restriction imposed on his passport

Assoc. Prof. Altınel, who is also an academic signatory to the peace declaration entitled "We will not be a party to this crime", came to Turkey in April 2019 to attend his hearing in the trial of Academics for Peace. He learnt at the airport that a restriction had been imposed on his passport.

As his inquiries about the issue remained inconclusive in İstanbul, on May 10, he went to Balıkesir, where he is officially registered.

Offense charged has changed

Altınel went to the Balıkesir Civil Registry to inquire about the restriction imposed on his passport. After he left the registry, he received a call from there and was taken into custody when he returned to the registry.

After deposing to the Prosecutor's Office, Altınel was referred to court to be arrested on charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization." He was arrested by the judgeship on duty on May 11 and sent to Kepsut Prison.

During his judicial process, the offense charged against him has turned from "terror propaganda" to "membership of a terrorist organization."

Calls for the release of Tuna Altınel

Since his arrest on May 11, both the government of France and his friends from the Lyon 1 University have taken several actions to demand his release:

* Forming the Committee of Support for Tuna Altınel, academics from Lyon 1 University organized demonstrations in France. They also launched a petition for his release from prison.

* On the same day, the Council of National Higher Education and Research of France (CNESER) also unanimously approved a proposal regarding the issue. Accordingly, the Council has requested that the Ministers of European Union, Higher Education and Foreign Affairs in France do what is necessary to ensure that Turkey respects the academics' freedom of expression.

* Making a speech regarding the issue on May 16, Minister of Higher Education of France Frédérique Vidal indicated that she was deeply concerned about his colleague and underlined that Altınel should return to France as soon as possible and get back to his job.

* The European Mathematical Society also made a statement regarding the arrest of Tuna Altınel on May 14 and emphasized that the arrest of the academic was a violation of human rights. The Society also demanded that Altınel be immediately released and be permitted to leave Turkey for France so that he could continue with his research and academic activities.

* The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France also released a statement on Assoc. Prof. Tuna Altınel on May 14 and stated that they were "concerned" about the arrest of the academic in Turkey. In its statement, the Ministry made a call to Turkey "to respect the commitments it made for human rights and fundamental freedoms."

* The University Presidents' Union of France (CPU) also met officials from the Embassy of Turkey and requested the release of Altınel.

* Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian also spoke about the issue before visiting Turkey. The Minister said that "they were highly concerned" about the situation of Altınel and would raise the issue in the meetings.

Calls from Turkey are as follows:

* Students and graduates from Galatasaray High School in İstanbul launched a petition to defend his right to express his opinions.

* The Association for Science, Art, Education, Research and Solidarity (BirAraDa) prepared and sent a postcard to Altınel.

* Academics for Peace gathered in front of İstanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan for several times and expressed their request for Altınel's release.

* The ÜNİVDER Association released a written statement and requested that Assoc. Prof. Tuna Altınel be released. (TP/SD)

 * When the curfew, which was in effect in Cizre in Turkey's southeastern province of Şırnak as of December 14, 2015, was lifted on March 2, 2016, 177 dead bodies, 25 of which belonged to children, were found in the wreckages and debris of mainly 3 buildings and the houses in their vicinity. While the 103 of the deceased could be identified, 74 people were put to rest without being identified. The total number of the dead has been announced as 189. According to the report of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), almost all of the dead bodies were beyond recognition because they were either burned or decomposed. The remnants of human bones and military ammunition were found in the basements. Forensic Experts also found remnants of human bones of children in the basements.