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Students and graduates from Galatasaray High School have launched a petition for Assoc. Prof. Ahmet Tuna Altınel, a graduate from the school and a lecturer at the Lyon-1 University, after he was arrested for having signed the declaration titled, "We will not be a party to this crime," by the Academics for Peace.
Altınel was taken into custody on May 10 in Balıkesir, where he went to inquire about the restriction imposed on his passport. He was arrested on the following day.
The academic is also charged with "membership of a terrorist organization" due to attending a conference in France, where he translated for Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) MP Faysal Sarıyıldız's speech into French.
Calling the terrorism charges against academics "absurd," the petition said that calls for peace should be discussed on free platforms, not at court halls.
Here is the full text of the petition:
Tuna Altınel, a 116th term graduate from Galatasaray High School and an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics at Lyon-1 University, was arrested on May 11th in Balıkesir, a province of Turkey where he went to request the lift of the restriction on his passport. At the time of his arrest, he had a pending trial for being one of the Academics for Peace who have been subjected to systematic persecution by means of statutory decrees.
Pressing additional charges on Tuna Altınel for allegedly being a member of an illegal organization based on his participation in a panel discussion in France is nothing but a fallacious and groundless accusation. The said conference was held by a legal association in France in compliance with due legal procedures and was announced days before its scheduled date.
One of the solid principles of the education we received in Galatasaray High School was bringing up generations with "free thought, free spirit and free conscience". We are aware that we are going through times in which this principle is being questioned and incriminated.
We stand for the prosperity of our country in every sense. One of the ways to achieve this is through fair trials and getting rid of the absurd fabrication of "terrorism charges" out of the calls for peace. Calls for peace can only be discussed in free platforms for the exchange of ideas assured and protected by laws, not to mention that court hearings shouldn't be a place for addressing peace calls.
We, from Galatasaray High School who undersigned this document, declare that in accordance with our stance for enlightenment against a bleak and dark future, and based on the fraternity we built in the classrooms during our childhood, will stand in solidarity with Tuna Altınel and defend his freedom of speech for his above-mentioned thoughts that don't contain any call for violence at all.
*Those who want to sign the petition shall contact with [email protected]
