TRIAL OF ACADEMICS
One Academic Sentenced to 15 Months, One Academic to 30 Months in Prison
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Trial of academics, who have been charged with "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" for having signed the declaration entitled "We will not be a party to this crime" prepared by the Academics for Peace, continued in İstanbul Çağlayan Courthouse yesterday (April 30).
In the first hearings of academics Güneş Gümüş, Cem Somel and Bahadır Aydın, the board of the the İstanbul 35th Heavy Penal Court has ruled that the case files of academics shall be sent to the Ministry of Justice for a permission of investigation as per the Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Court (TCK). Their trials have halted until the Ministry replies to the request.
In the single hearing heard by the 24th Heavy Penal Court, the court board has also ruled that the file of Ülkü Doğanay shall be sent to the Ministry of Justice for a permission of investigation as per the Article 301 of TCK. This trial has also halted until the response of Ministry.
Two academics sentenced to prison
Having his final hearing at the İstanbul 32nd Heavy Penal Court, academic Ömer Çelebi has been sentenced to 1 year and 3 months in prison on charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" as per the Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law. The pronouncement of the verdict has been deferred.
The court of İstanbul 25th Heavy Penal Court has ruled that Süreyya Topaloğlu shall be sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison for "knowingly and willingly aiding a terrorist organization as a non-member."
A judge who is a member of the court board has expressed a dissenting opinion, stating that the academic "should have been penalized as per the Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law."
Since the prison term of the academic is over two years, the announcement of her verdict has not been deferred. The verdict of conviction will be examined by the court of appeal for the final judgement. The court will either uphold or reverse the prison sentence.
Hearings held on April 30Academics had their hearings at six different courts: At the İstanbul 37th Heavy Penal Court; Prof. Dr. Hacer Ansal from Işık University had her fourth hearing. At the İstanbul 35th Heavy Penal Court; Research Assistant Güneş Gümüş from Ankara University, Prof. Dr. Cem Somel from Middle East Technical University (METU) and Prof. Dr. Bahadır Aydın from Abant İzzet Baysal University had their first hearings. At the İstanbul 24th Heavy Penal Court; Prof. Dr. Ülkü Doğanay from Ankara University had her first hearing. At the İstanbul 26th Heavy Penal Court; Dr. Engin Kılıç from Sabancı University had his fourth hearing. At the İstanbul 32nd Heavy Penal Court; Research Assistant Ömer Çelebi from Yıldız Technical University (YTÜ) had his fourth hearing. At the İstanbul 25th Heavy Penal Court; Research Assistant Süreyya Topaloğlu from İstanbul Bilgi University had her sixth hearing. |
About the Trials of AcademicsOn January 10, 2016, 1,128 academics published a declaration entitled "We will not be party to this crime" on behalf of the Academics for Peace initiative. With the participation of further academics, the number of academics who have signed the declaration has reached 2,212. With the indictment issued by the Prosecutor İsmet Bozkurt, lawsuits were filed against the academics on charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" as per the Article No. 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law No. 3713. As of April 30, 2019, 610 academics had stood trial since December 5, 2017, all the 187 academics whose cases were concluded have been sentenced to prison. 133 of these academics were sentenced to 1 year and 3 months in prison; 8 academics to 1 year and 6 months in prison; 16 academics to 1 year, 10 months and 15 days in prison; 17 academics to 2 years and 3 months in prison; six academics have been sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison; three academics have been sentenced to 2 years and 1 month in prison; and one academic to 3 years in prison. The suspension of the pronouncement of the verdict Until today, 12 academics have not accepted that the announcement of their verdicts be deferred. While seven of these academics have been sentenced to 1 year and 3 months in prison, one academic has been sentenced to 1 year and 6 months, one academic to 2 years and 3 months, one academic to 2 years and 6 months and one academic to 3 years in prison. The verdict of one academic has not been pronounced by the court yet. The court board of the 36th Heavy Penal Court has reduced the prison sentences of academics who did not demand the suspension of the pronouncement of their verdicts and deferred their sentences on a 2-year probation. The 32nd Heavy Penal Court has made reductions in the sentences; however, it has not deferred them. The 37th Heavy Penal Court has neither reduced nor deferred the pronouncement of the verdicts. Three academics were not asked about whether they requested the suspension of the pronouncement of their verdicts. While one of these three academics has been sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison, one of them has been sentenced to 1 year and 3 months and the other academic to 2 year and 3 months in prison. The prison sentences of academics, the announcement of whose verdicts has not been suspended since their sentence is over two years, will be taken to the court of appeal. The court of appeal will either uphold or reverse the verdict. On March 10, 2016, the Academics for Peace made a statement for press and shared with the public what they had been going through since the declaration "We will not be a party to this crime" was published. The academics Dr. Lecturer Esra Mungan, Dr. Lecturer Muzaffer Kaya, Assoc. Prof. Dr Kıvanç Ersoy (March 15, 2016) and Dr. Lecturer Meral Camcı (March 31, 2016), who read out the statement for press, were arrested on charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" as per the Article No. 7/2 of the Turkish Anti-Terror Law. They were released on April 2016. Upon the request of the Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Justice granted a permission of trial as per the Article No. 301 of the Turkish Penal Code No. 301 on charges of "insulting the Turkish Nation, the State of the Republic of Turkey and the institutions and organs of the government." |
* As per the Article 231 of the Law on Criminal Courts (CMK), when a court rules that the announcement of a verdict shall be suspended or deferred, the verdict/sentence is removed in the event that the person does not commit an intentional crime in five years.
(TP/SD)