Solidarity with Academic for Peace at Airport Against the Warrant Issued for Her

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Academic for Peace Gizem Sayın, a research assistant at the Law School of İstanbul Kadir Has University, will be taken into custody at the airport in İstanbul tomorrow (June 11).

Charged with "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" for having signed the declaration entitled "We will not be a party to this crime", Sayın could not attend her hearings at the İstanbul 37th Heavy Penal Court on the ground that she was abroad for her academic works. The court issued a warrant against her in her absence.

Gizem Sayın will return to Turkey tomorrow. As her plane lands at İstanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport at around 3 p.m., she will be detained. Other Academics for Peace and Sayın's attorneys will also be present there.

Academics and rights defenders will also accompany Sayın at the İstanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan, where she will be taken for her deposition.

She was abroad by permission of her university

Academic Gizem Sayın has been abroad for the last nine months. She was abroad for her academic works by permission of her university.

At her third hearing on March 6, the İstanbul 37th Heavy Penal Court issued a warrant against the academic "to be released after her deposition."

"Considering the date when the defendant would return to Turkey, a new hearing date was set for her; however, the attorney of the defendant stated that her client was abroad at this hearing as well," the court indicated in the justification of the warrant.

All objections rejected

Since March 6, when the warrant was issued against the academic, her attorney Meriç Eyüboğlu has appealed to court for three times, submitting the related documents indicating that Sayın was abroad for her academic works.

The court rejected all of these objections. In response, Eyüboğlu appealed to the upper court. However, the upper court also rejected her objection and ruled for the continuation of the warrant in question. (TP/SD)