Constitutional Court says cancelling Peace Academic’s passport violated his rights

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Having signed the declaration "We will not be a party to this crime" along with over a thousand academics in 2016, Academic for Peace Onur Can Taştan was discharged from the Faculty of Political Sciences of Ankara University by a Statutory Decree and his passport was cancelled.

Finalizing the application of the discharged academic regarding the cancellation of his passport, the Constitutional Court has concluded that his "right to respect for privacy" has been violated and ruled that he shall be paid 13,500 Turkish Lira (TRY) in damages.

The top court ruling has noted that there is no criminal investigation against Taştan, emphasizing that even though restricting people's exits from and entries to the country for a while is understandable under State of Emergency conditions, this should not turn into an indefinite practice.

The Constitutional Court has also concluded that not giving Onur Can Taştan a regular passport is not imperative or proportionate.

What happened?

The Rectorate of Ankara University sent a written correspondence to the Security Directorate in 2016 and requested that the passport of Onur Can Taştan from the Faculty of Political Sciences be cancelled.

The Rectorate designated academic Taştan as "a person allegedly having affiliations with a terrorist organization or posing a threat to national security" as per the Decree of State of Emergency.

15 days later, the academic was discharged from public service as per the Statutory Decree dated September 1, 2016.

Discharged from public service, he applied to the administrative court in 2016 and said that his right to respect for privacy was violated.

The administrative court and the appeals court rejected his applications. Taştan underlined that he had to attend congresses and classes abroad and applied to the Constitution Court, underlining that his freedom of travel and Constitutional rights were restricted. (RT/SD)