Call by Nuriye Gülmen for Fax Protest
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Academic Nuriye Gülmen who has been on hunger strike for 288 days, has made a call for State of Emergency (OHAL) Commission to be faxed as the commission doesn’t respond to applications.
The commission formed through a statutory decree dated January 23, 2017 and started working on July 17 had announced that it would make its first decision in November. As of October 4, 101,304 applications were submitted to the commission and no decision has been made.
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım had stated that the number of applications about discharges would be around 296,350.
The discharged academic Nuriye Gülmen and teacher Semih Özakça are on the 288th day of their hunger strike, which they have gone on demanding that they be reinstated to their jobs. The European Court of Human Rights pointing to the OHAL Commission rejected their application.
On the social media, Gülmen said, “We are organizing a fax protest against the OHAL Commission. This protest is no ordinary protest. We are going for 10 thousand faxes!”
About Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça
On January 6, 2017, Nuriye Gülmen was discharged from her position through the Statutory Decree No. 679 issued under the State of Emergency.
On October 29, 2016, Semih Özakça was discharged from his position through the Statutory Decree No. 675 issued under the State of Emergency.
On March 9, 2017 Gülmen and Özakça went on an indefinite and non-alternate hunger strike in front of the Human Rights Statute on Yüksel Street in Turkey's capital city of Ankara.
They were taken into custody and later released several times during their hunger strike.
Being charged with "being a member of a terrorist organization" ,"opposing to the Law on Assembly and Demonstration" and "propagandizing for a terrorist organization", they were arrested on May 23.
On September 14, ahead of the first hearing, Sincan prison gendarmerie commandership sent an official report for Gülmen and Özakça not to be brought to court on the pretext of “security, lack of staff and health conditions”.
Nuriye Gülmen was taken to Numune Hospital from the prison hospital on the 202nd day (September 26) of her hunger strike.
Semih Özakça was released in the third hearing and Nuriye Gülmen was released on December 4. (AS/TK)