TRIAL OF ACADEMICS
Academic Sentenced to 2 Years, 3 Months in Prison
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Trial of academics, who have been charged with "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" for having signed the declaration entitled "We will not be a party to this crime" prepared by the Academics for Peace, continued in İstanbul Çağlayan Courthouse yesterday (March 14).
One academic sentenced to 2 years, 3 months
At the İstanbul 28th Heavy Penal Court, the court board imposed a restriction on the audience and did not allow anyone, except for the attorneys, to follow the hearing in the courtroom, including journalists. However, the Presiding Judge had it written in the minutes that "there were no restrictions."
Pronouncing its verdict for academic Çare Olgun Çalışkan, a Research Assistant from the Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts (MSGSÜ), the court has ruled that the academic shall be sentenced to 2 years and 3 months in prison on charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" as per the Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law (TMK).
While no reductions have been made in the prison term, the sentence has also not been deferred. The undeferred prison sentence will be taken to the Court of Appeal, which will either reverse or upheld the judgement.
Interlocutory judgement reversed
In the previous hearing of Nevim Boçin, a PhD student from Boğaziçi University, the board of the 14th Heavy Penal Court gave an interlocutory judgement and requested a permission of investigation from the Ministry of Justice with regard to the possibility that the offence charged could turn into an offence as per the Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).
During her hearing held yesterday, the prosecutor of the court reminded the court board that the Court of Appeal upheld the 15-month prison sentence given to Füsun Üstel on charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" as per the Article 7/2 of the TMK and requested that the previous interlocutory judgement be reversed. The court board has reversed its judgement and in his opinion as to the accusations, the prosecutor demanded that the academic be penalized as per the Article 7/2 of the TMK.
15-month deferred prison sentence for one academic
At the İstanbul 36th Heavy Penal Court, Prof. Dr. Ferdan Ergut from Middle East Technical University (METU) had her first hearing.
The academic has been sentenced to 1 year and 3 months in prison for "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" as per the Article 7/2 of the TMK. The announcement of the verdict has been suspended.*
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Yesterday's hearings 23 academics had their hearings in 8 different courts: At the İstanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court; PhD student Nevim Borçin from Boğaziçi University had her fourth hearing. At the İstanbul 26th Heavy Penal Court; Lecturers Güventürk Görgülü and Berrak Karahoda and Research Assistant Orkun Doğan from İstanbul Bilgi University, Assoc. Prof. Nermin Saybaşılı from Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts (MSGSÜ) and Assoc. Prof. Cengiz Aktar from Süleyman Şah University had their third hearings. At the İstanbul 27th Heavy Penal Court; Research Assistant Burcu Hatiboğlu from Hacettepe University had her second hearing; Dr. Lecturer Çağla Karabağ from the same university and Prof. Dr. M.A. and Assoc. Prof. A.A. from the Middle East Technical University (METU) had their first hearings. At the İstanbul 28th Heavy Penal Court; Research Assistant Çare Olgun Çalışkan from the MSGSÜ had his fourth hearing. At the İstanbul 29th Heavy Penal Court; Prof. Dr. Zerrin Kurtoğlu from Ege University had her first hearing. At the İstanbul 36th Heavy Penal Court; Prof. Dr. Ferdan Ergut from the METU, Assoc. Prof. Tezcan Durna from Ankara University and Research Assistant Eren Kırmızıaltın from Gazi University had their first hearings. At the İstanbul 37th Heavy Penal Court; Prof. Dr. Alev Özkazanç from Ankara University, Research Assistants Bolat Erkoç and F.I. from Muğla Sıtkı Kocaman University had their first hearings; Research Assistant Belin Benezra Yensarfati from İstanbul Bilgi University and Prof. Dr. Selçuk Ertekin and Prof. Dr. Fikret Uyar from Dicle University had their second hearings; Dr. Lecturer Filiz Arıöz from Marmara University had her fourth hearing. At the İstanbul 25th Heavy Penal Court; Prof. Dr. Erhan Ünlü from Dicle University had her first hearing. |
About the Trials of AcademicsOn 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. With the participation of further academics, the number of academics who have signed the declaration has reached 2,212. With the indictment issued by the Prosecutor İsmet Bozkurt, lawsuits were filed against the academics on charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" as per the Article No. 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law No. 3713. As of March 14, 2019, 533 academics had stood trial since December 5, 2017, all the 151 academics whose cases were concluded have been sentenced to prison. 109 of these academics were sentenced to 1 year and 3 months in prison; 7 academics to 1 year and 6 months in prison; 14 academics to 1 year, 10 months and 15 days in prison; 16 academics to 2 years and 3 months in prison; two academics have been sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison; one academic has been sentenced to 2 years and 1 month in prison; and one academic to 3 years in prison. The suspension of the pronouncement of the verdict Until today, 12 academics have not accepted that the announcement of their verdicts be deferred. While seven of these academics have been sentenced to 1 year and 3 months in prison, one academic has been sentenced to 1 year and 6 months, one academic to 2 years and 3 months, one academic to 2 years and 6 months and one academic to 3 years in prison. The verdict of one academic has not been pronounced by the court yet. The court board of the 36th Heavy Penal Court has reduced the prison sentences of academics who did not demand the suspension of the pronouncement of their verdicts and deferred their sentences on a 2-year probation. The 32nd Heavy Penal Court has made reductions in the sentences; however, it has not deferred them. The 37th Heavy Penal Court has neither reduced nor deferred the pronouncement of the verdicts. Three academics were not asked about whether they requested the suspension of the pronouncement of their verdicts. While one of these three academics has been sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison, one of them has been sentenced to 1 year and 3 months and the other academic to 2 year and 3 months in prison. The prison sentences of academics, the announcement of whose verdicts has not been suspended since their sentence is over two years, will be taken to the court of appeal. The court of appeal will either uphold or reverse the verdict. On March 10, 2016, the Academics for Peace made a statement for press and shared with the public what they had been going through since the declaration "We will not be a party to this crime" was published. The academics Dr. Lecturer Esra Mungan, Dr. Lecturer Muzaffer Kaya, Assoc. Prof. Dr Kıvanç Ersoy (March 15, 2016) and Dr. Lecturer Meral Camcı (March 31, 2016), who read out the statement for press, were arrested on charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" as per the Article No. 7/2 of the Turkish Anti-Terror Law. They were released on April 2016. Upon the request of the Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Justice granted a permission of trial as per the Article No. 301 of the Turkish Penal Code No. 301 on charges of "insulting the Turkish Nation, the State of the Republic of Turkey and the institutions and organs of the government." |
* As per the Article 231 of the Law on Criminal Courts (CMK), when a court rules that the announcement of a verdict shall be suspended, the verdict/sentence is removed in the event that the person does not commit an intentional crime in five years.
(TP/SD)