Call From 111 Figures for Gülmen, Özakça

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

111 intellectuals and artists have put a petition on the newspapers for academic Nuriye Gülmen and teacher Semih Özakça, who have been on hunger strike for 111 days.

111 figures including Ayşe Kulin, Ahmet Ümit, Ferzan Özpetek, Hayko Çepkin, Murathan Mungan, Müjde Ar, Sıla Gençoğlu, Zuhal Olcay have signed the petition.

The petition has been published on Hürriyet, Cumhuriyet, Evrensel and BirGün newspapers.

The petition read as follows:

"Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça are only two of 5,000 academics, 50,000 teachers and 150,000 workers who have been discharged from their jobs through statutory decrees. They were sent to prison for going on hunger strike requesting that they be reinstated to their jobs. They have been hungry for 111 days.

"We want the state to take necessary measures for them to return to their schools and continue their life. Democracy and justice necessitate this".

111 signatories

Akın Birdal, Ataol Behramoğlu, Atilla Dorsay, Arif Sağ, Ayşe Kulin, Aslı Erdoğan, Ayşe Semiha Baban, Ahmet Ümit, Ayşegül Tözeren, Ayşenur Arslan, Av Gürkan Altun Bursa Barosu Başkanı, Av Zafer Kazan Sakarya Barosu Başkanı, Av Polat Balkan Antalya Baro Başkanı, Av Veli Küçük Adana Barosu Başkanı, Av Hakan Canduran Ankara Barosu Başkanı, Ali Haydar Hakverdi, Barış Atay, Barış Bıçakcı, Burhan Sönmez, Bülent Emrah Parlak, Bülent Erkmen, Barış Yarkadaş, Buket Uzuner, Banu Güven, Barış Pirhasan, Can Dündar, Cahit Berkay, Celile Toyan, Deniz Türkali, Defne Halman, Edip Akbayram, Erdal Erzincan, Ece Yörenç, Elif Şafak, Eşber Yağmurdereli, Ezel Akay, Emrah Serbes, Ercan Kesal, Ersan Uysal, Füsun Demirel, Ferzan Özpetek, Filiz Kerestecioğlu, Fatoş Güney, Fatih Portakal, Fuat Saka, Füsun Erbulak, Grup Yorum, Gencay Gürsoy, Gülriz Sururi, Güvenç Dağüstün, Gökçer Tahincioğlu, Hayko Cepkin, Halil Ergün, Hüseyin Turan, Hasibe Eren, Hale Soygazi, Hüsnü Arkan, İlyas Salman, Ilkay Akkaya, Jehan Barbur, Jülide Kural, Korkut Botatav, küçük İskender, Levent Üzümcü, Lale Mansur, Latife Tekin, Meltem Cumbul, Murathan Mungan, Müjde Ar, Menderes Samancılar, Müjdat Gezen, Macit Koper, Metin Bakkalcı, Merdan Yanardağ, Mehmet Aksoy, Mazlum Çimen, Melike Demirağ, Murat Belge, Nejat Yavaşoğulları, Nurdan Gürbilek, Nebil Özgentürk, Necmiye Alpay, Nazım Alpman, Orhan Aydın, Orhan Alkaya, Ömer Türkeş, Özgür Mumcu, Özcan Alper, Pelin Batu, Rutkay Aziz, Sıla Gençoğlu, Selçuk Yöntem, Selçuk Kozağaçlı, Sabahat Akkiraz, Seray Şahiner, Sinan Tuzcu, Sevinç Erbulak, Suavi, Sema Kaygusuz, Şevket Çoruh, Şebnem Korur Fincancı, Tanıl Bora, Türkan Elçi, Tayfun Atay, Tolga Sağ, Tilbe Saran, Ufuk Uras, Yasemin Göksu, Zülfü Livaneli, Zeynep Tanbay, Zuhal Olcay.

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. (NV/TK)