Boğaziçi constituencies, HDP’s Gergerlioğlu granted freedom of expression award

* Photos: Musa Piroğlu's Twitter account

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The 19th Ayşenur Zarakolu Freedom of Thought and Expression Awards were granted in an prize-giving ceremony at the Human Rights Association (İHD) İstanbul Branch on Saturday (June 12).

Themed "Urgent Action for Human Rights, Freedom and Liberal Democracy", this year's awards have been given to Boğaziçi University constituencies, who have been protesting against the rector appointment to their school since early January 2021, and to Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, a politician from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), who was first stripped of his MP status because of a final prison sentence and arrested shortly afterwards.

Journalist Tuğrul Eryılmaz gave Gergerlioğlu's award to HDP MP Musa Piroğlu. Sending a message from prison, Gergerlioğlu briefly said:

"I have always defined being a human rights defender as my first identity. I did human rights-based work in politics. Even if I am not in politics, I will keep marching alongside rights defenders. Being a rights defender is challenging, but the best part of it is that we always turn out to be right.

"Being a rights defender is everlasting despite tough governments. I would like to extend my thanks to the İHD for this award."

Award to Boğaziçi constituencies

On behalf of the Boğaziçi University constituencies, Prof. Kuban Altınel, a faculty member from the Industrial Engineering Department, Nazlıcan Doğan, a senior student from the Department of Preschool Teaching, Nurbanu Pekol from the Alumni for the Boğaziçi University (BUİM) Initiative, and Esra Şener, the Education and Science Laborers' Union (Eğitim-Sen) Representative to Boğaziçi, attended the award-giving ceremony.

İHD Co-Chair Eren Keskin and Deniz Zarakolu granted the award to Prof. Kuban Altınel on behalf of the Boğaziçi constituencies.

What happened at Boğaziçi?

Since ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appointed Prof. Melih Bulu as the rector of Boğaziçi University on January 2, 2021, the students, academics, alumni and other constituencies of the university have been protesting this decision.

The academics of the university turn their backs to the Rector's Office every workday in protest against this appointment and demand the resignation of Melih Bulu as well as that of appointed vice rectors Gürkan Kumbaroğlu, Naci İnci, Fazıl Önder Sönmez and Selami Kuran, who was appointed as the dean of the Faculty of Law, which was also founded by a Presidential decision one night, along with a Communication Faculty, to which appointed rector Melih Bulu was appointed as the dean.

Gergerlioğlu stripped of MP status, arrested

HDP Kocaeli MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu was sentenced to 2 years, 6 months in prison by the Kocaeli 2nd Heavy Penal Court on February 21, 2018 on the grounds that he had allegedly "propagandized for a terrorist organization" with his social media posts in 2016.

After the prison sentence of the MP became final as the 16th Penal Chamber of the Court of Cassation upheld the verdict, a summary of proceedings was issued against Gergerlioğlu and sent to the Parliament.

Gergerlioğlu took the prison sentence to the Constitutional Court, but no ruling of right violation was given. He was stripped of his MP status on March 17, 2021, taken into custody in a house raid by the police on April 2, arrested and sent to prison a day later, on April 3, 2021.

(RT/SD)