Hundreds of Turkish academics are waiting to find out whether they will be prosecuted or sacked for spreading “terrorist propaganda”, after they signed a petition calling for violence to end in Turkey’s southeast, where government forces have been fighting Kurdish separatists.
After the petition provoked a furious response from Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, several universities in the country have begun investigations into signatories among their faculty — which could lead to their dismissal if accusations of unlawful political agitation hold up. On 15 January, police arrested and later released 27 academics, according to local media reports, including economists, physicians and scientists.
Turkey’s government has previously clamped down on scientists and students who question its policies, imprisoned scientists charged with terrorism offenses, and restricted the freedom of funding agencies and scientific academies. But the number of arrests and investigations makes the current episode one of the larger Turkish attacks on freedom of expression in recent years, prompting outrage among human-rights advocates.
– From the post: U.S. Ally Turkey Arrests Academics for the Crime of Signing a Peace Petition
Over the past several months, the nation of Turkey has rapidly devolved into a tyrannical, rogue regime under an increasingly despotic president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It’s a disturbing reality I’ve highlighted frequently in recent months, particularly since the country remains a close U.S. government ally and is actively attempting to join the EU.
Well the hits just keep on coming. From the AFP via Yahoo News:
Istanbul (AFP) – Two Turkish journalists went on trial in Istanbul Friday facing possible life terms on controversial espionage charges, with the court immediately barring the public from a case seen as a test of press freedom under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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