Nuriye Gülmen Released

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Academic Nuriye Gülmen was released in her trial in the evening hours of Friday (December 1) on the 269th day of her hunger strike.

Gülmen was taken to her home in capital Ankara by an ambulance from inmate cell in Ankara Numune Hospital.

Nuriye Gülmen’s mother Cemile Gülmen stated that they’ve felt great joy after receiving the news of the release. “We are happy to have our daughter back. We hope her hunger strike will end. We haven’t spoken anything about the hunger strike but she won’t give it up until she is reinstated to her job. She is very exhausted and weak now”.

Her father Şaban Gülmen said, “We are glad that she is released. I hope we will overcome these difficult days and see the better ones. We haven’t spoken with our child yet but I think she will continue the hunger strike until she goes back to work. She is physically exhausted. I hope she will recover”.

Ankara 19th Heavy Penal Court sentenced Gülmen to 6 years and 3 months in prison on charge of “being a member of an illegal organization” and ruled release of her.

Among the discharged teachers who are on hunger strike, Semih Özakça and Acun Karadağ were acquitted.

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. (AS/TK)