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Trials against signatories of Academics for Peace's declaration "We will not be party to this crime" continued today (February 8) in Çağlayan at Istanbul Courthouse 33rd Heavy Penal Court.

After their first hearings on December 7, 2017, Hülya Kirmanoğlu, Haydar Durak, and Fatma Nihan Aksakallı from Istanbul University and Gözde Aytemur Nüfusçu from Galatasaray University are due for their second hearings today.

Hülya Kirmanoğlu and Gözde Aytemur Nüfusçu's hearings took place before noon. Immediate acquittal, consolidation, citation of the documents from the case at the 13th Heavy Penal Court, and adjournment requests were made. The judiciary panel granted the adjournment and citation requests.

The hearings of the two Istanbul University academics will proceed in the afternoon.

Representatives from the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights and the Democratic Jurists of Switzerland were also present to observe the trial.

The academics who signed the declaration are charged with "terrorist organization propaganda" under Article 7/2 of the Turkish Anti-Terror Act (3713) in the bill of indictment prepared by Prosecutor İsmet Bozkurt. Trials began on December 5. So far, 106 defendants have had their first hearings, and 16 of these have also had their second.

What happened?

On 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.

On March 10, 2016, Asst. Prof. Dr. Esra Mungan, Asst. Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Kaya, Assoc. Prof. Dr Kıvanç Ersoy and Asst. Prof. Dr. Meral Camcı read out the press statement at a press conference that was was held on behalf of the Academics for Peace/Istanbul group regarding the developments which had occurred since the declaration was first shared with the public.

The first three of these academics were arrested on the charge of "terrorist propaganda" on March 15, 2016, and the last, Camcı, who was abroad at the time, was arrested on March 31 when she returned to Turkey. The four academics were released on April 22, 2016 upon their first hearing, in which the prosecutor of the trial changed the charges pressed against the academics to the crimes regulated under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (insulting Turkey, the Turkish nation, or Turkish government institutions) and applied for authorization from the Ministry of Justice to hold the trial under the new article.

Another bill of indictment was prepared in October 2017 regarding at least 148 academics who signed the declaration. The academics were charged with "terrorist organization propaganda" under Article 7/2 of the Turkish Anti-Terror Act (#3713) in the bill of indictment prepared by Prosecutor İsmet Bozkurt. The first hearings were held on December 5.

By February 6, 2018, 106 defendants have had their first hearings, and 16 of these have also had their second. (BK/PU)