Hearing of 3 Academics: Next Hearing on May, 2018

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The hearings of the academics, standing trial for having signed the peace declaration "We will not be a party to this crime" , continued today (December 26) before İstanbul 36th Assize Court in three different courtrooms.

Academics Biriz Gonca Berksoy, İnci Kerstecioğlu and Tülay Erkan from İstanbul University had the first hearing of their trials today. Their next hearing will be on May 8, 2018.

According to the indictment prepared by Prosecutor İsmet Bozkurt, the academics are being charged with "Making Propaganda for a Terrorist Organisation", based on the Article 7/2 of the Turkish Anti-Terror Act and Article 53 of the Turkish Penal Code.

Each academic face up to 7.5 years in prison. The investigation is carried out by İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. The trials began on December 5, 2017.

As of today, the first hearings in the trials of 68 academics was held. Seven of these had also the second hearings of their trials.
The hearings that are being held today, are as follows:

Academic Prof. Dr. Tülay Erkan

Academic Prof. Dr. Tülay Erkan from İstanbul University did not attend the hearing she had a medical report.

Attorney Meriç Eyüboğlu representing Erkan submitted the sickness report to the court and demanded additional time for Erkan.
The next hearing will be held on May 8, 2018.

Academic Biriz Gonca Berksoy

Attorney Aslı Kazan representing academic Berksoy, demanded that Berksoy's written deposition taken at the security directorate on April 11, 2016, be included in the case file. Characterizing the lawsuits brought separately against the academics as "groundless and unfounded", Kazan reminded that in the indictment, Berksoy's crime was referred to as committed in 2015, in Hakkari province.

Attorney demanded that all cases brought against academics be brought to court, examined and later be combined.

Attorney Serdat Laçin, also representing Berksoy demanded that Berksoy be tried before İstanbul 13th Assize Court under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (insulting Turkey, the Turkish nation, or Turkish government institutions) like the other four academics, namely Asst. Prof. Dr. Esra Mungan, Asst. Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Kaya, Assoc. Prof. Dr Kıvanç Ersoy and Asst. Prof. Dr. Meral Camcı.

Retired academic İnci Özkan Kerestecioğlu

Attorney Tuncel Yazgan representing Özkan-Kerestecioğlu demanded that all cases of the academics be combined, academic Özkan-Kerestecioğlu be released and an authorization be awaited from the Ministry of Justice for the academics be tried under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.

Court has ruled, that the case file of the trial held before İstanbul 13th Assize Court under Article 301 be examined and the next hearing be held on May 8, 2018.

What happened?

On January 10, 2016, the Peace Declaration of the Academics "We will not be a party to this crime" was shared with the public in a press conference. 1,128 academics from 89 universities as well as over 355 academics and researchers from abroad had signed the peace declaration.

On January 12, 2016, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan referring to the academics signing peace declaration, said: "A group of people calling themselves academics appears and talks against their state which defends their land against acts of terror organizations. [...] You so-called intellectuals, you are all dark and ignorant".

Following Erdoğan's statement, more academics signed the declaration to support their colleagues and including the second wave of signatures, the number of academics signing the peace declaration reached 2,212.

In many where these academics had a position, they had been targetted, their office doors were marked and they began to receive messages of threat.
As of January 15, 2016, police began raiding the houses of the academics and taking them into custody. Some have been suspended from their positions and others were subjected to administrative or legal investigations.

On March 10, 2016, a press conference was held on behalf of the Academics for Peace/İstanbul group regarding the developments which had occurred since the declaration was shared with the public. Asst. Prof. Dr. Esra Mungan, Asst. Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Kaya, Assoc. Prof. Dr Kıvanç Ersoy and Asst. Prof. Dr. Meral Camcı read out the press statement saying that the prosecutor's office took action without determining which crimes were allegedly committed and noted that the academics insisted on their demand of peace.

On May 15, 2016, Asst. Prof. Dr. Esra Mungan, Asst. Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Kaya, Assoc. Prof. Dr Kıvanç Ersoy were arrested, and on March 31, 2016 Asst. Prof. Dr. Meral Camcı was arrested after returning to Turkey from abroad where she was at the time when the arrest warrant was issued. The academics were charged with "terror propaganda" and were released on April 22, 2016.

After the State of Emergency was declared, 380 academics who signed the peace declaration, were discharged from their positions through statutory decrees. Also tens of academics, who had a position at foundation universities, were discharged as well.

Charges

Each academic face up to 7.5 years in prison. The investigation is carried out by İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

Turkish Anti-Terror Act

Article 7(2)

Any person making propaganda for a terrorist organisation shall be punished with imprisonment from one to five years. If this crime is committed through means of mass media, the penalty shall be aggravated by one half. In addition, editors-in-chief (...)2
who have not participated in the perpetration of the crime shall be punished with a judicial fine from one thousand to fifteen thousand days' rates. However, the upper limit of this sentence for editors-in-chief is five thousand days' rates.

According to the indictment, the evidences regarding the alleged crime are;

• The investigation report that concerns the statement of Bese Hozat--the co-president of the PKK/KCK terrorist organization's executive committee--that is dated December 27, 2015.-;

• The investigation reports on the academics who signed the petition (suspects) concerning the press declarations on January 11, 2016 (first declaration) and March 10, 2016 (second declaration) that are allegedly of a supportive nature in favour of PKK/KCK terrorist organization;

• Records of statement and interrogation reports of the suspects and the arrest warrants issued for them.

148 academics who are among the first ones of the 1,128 academics to stand trial are from the following universities:

Galatasaray University, İstanbul University, Yıldız Teknik University, İstanbul Teknik University, Marmara University, Boğaziçi University, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Yeni Yüzyıl University, Apriltaşı University, Kadir Has University, Özyeğin University, Bahçeşehir University, Kemerburgaz University, Arel University and Işık University.

Schedule of the trials of 148 academics

5 December 2017 - Galatasaray University (6 academics), İstanbul University (4 academics) before İstanbul 35th Assize Court.

7 December 2017 – Galatasaray University (3 academics), İstanbul University (10 academics) before İstanbul 32th Assize Court.

7 December 2017 – Galatasaray University (3 academics), İstanbul University (8 academics) before İstanbul 33th Assize Court.

7 December 2017 – Galatasaray University (6 academics), İstanbul University (6 academics) before İstanbul 34th Assize Court.

14 December 2017 – Marmara University (1 academic) before İstanbul 36th Assize Court.

19 December 2017 – Yıldız Teknik University (1 academic), İstanbul Teknik University (1 academic) before İstanbul 36th Assize Court.

21 December 2017 – Marmara University (5 academics), Yıldız Teknik University (2 academics) before İstanbul 33th Assize Court.

21 December 2017 – Galatasaray University (1 academic), İstanbul University (5 academics) before İstanbul 36th Assize Court.

26 December 2017 – Boğaziçi University (1 academic), Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University (1 academic),, Yeni Yüzyıl University (1 academic), Apriltaşı University (1 academic) before İstanbul 13th Assize Court.

26 December 2017 – İstanbul University (3 academics) before İstanbul 36th Assize Court .
4 January 2018 – Marmara University (2 academics), İstanbul Teknik University (1 academic) before İstanbul 36th Assize Court.

11 January 2018 – Kadir Has University (2 academics) before İstanbul 35 th Assize Court .
18 January 2018 – İstanbul Teknik University (4 academics), Yıldız Teknik University (2 academics), Marmara University (3 academics), Özyeğin University (1 academic) before İstanbul 35th Assize Court.

30 January 2018 – Marmara University (5 academics), Yıldız Teknik University (3 academics), İstanbul Teknik University (4 academics), Özyeğin University (1 academic) before İstanbul 32nd Assize Court.

6 February 2018 – Marmara University (1 academic) before İstanbul 34th Assize Court.

13 February 2018 – Marmara University (3 academics), Özyeğin University (2 academics), Kadir Has University (3 academics), Yıldız Teknik University (1 academic) before İstanbul 34th Assize Court.

15 February 2018 – Kadir Has University (1 academic) before İstanbul 36th Assize Court.

22 February 2018 – Bahçeşehir University (1 academic), Kemerburgaz University (1 academic) before İstanbul 36th Assize Court.

27 February 2018 – Kemerburgaz University (1 academic), Apriltaşı University (1 academic), Kadir Has University (1 academic) before İstanbul 35th Assize Court.

1 March 2018 – İstanbul University (3 academics) before İstanbul 37. Assize Court.

6 March 2018 – İstanbul University (3 academics), Galatasaray University (1 academic) before İstanbul 37th Assize Court.

8 March 2018 – Galatasaray University (2 academics), İstanbul University (2 academics) before İstanbul 37. Assize Court.

13 March 2018 – Galatasaray University (2 academics), İstanbul University (1 academic) before İstanbul 37th Assize Court.

16 March 2018 – Kadir Has University (3 academics), Bahçeşehir University (1 academic) before İstanbul 33th Assize Court.

20 March 2018 – Marmara University (2 academics) before İstanbul 37th Assize Court.

22 March 2018 – Marmara University (1 academic) before İstanbul 37th Assize Court.

27 March 2018 – Marmara University (1 academic) before İstanbul 37th Assize Court.

29 March 2018 - Marmara University (1 academic) before İstanbul 37th Assize Court.

3 April 2018 – Kadir Has University (1 academic), Kemerburgaz University (1 academic) İstanbul 32nd Assize Court.

5 April 2018 – Yıldız Teknik University (1 academic)), İstanbul Teknik University (1 academic) before İstanbul 32nd Assize Court.

26 April 2018 – Arel University (1 academic) before İstanbul 37th Assize Court.

3 May 2018 – Kadir Has University (1 academic), Bahçeşehir University (1 academic) before İstanbul 37th Assize Court.

8 May 2018 – Kadir Has University (1 academic), Işık University (1 academic) before İstanbul 37th Assize Court.

15 May 2018 – Kadir Has University (2 academics) before İstanbul 37th Assize Court.

17 May 2018 - Bahçeşehir University (1 academic) before İstanbul 37th Assize Court.

(TP/DG)

TRIALS OF ACADEMICS SIGNING PEACE DECLARATION