HRW
5/14/18
(Berlin) – The Turkish government’s dismissal of thousands of academics and the prosecution of hundreds more, together with interference with academics’ work and student protests, is leading to self-censorship and hollowing out academic freedom in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. "The Turkish government’s crackdown is targeting academics and damaging its universities” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Academics and students should be free to express, teach, and research controversial or critical ideas without risking dismissal or imprisonment.” The government has carried out mass firings of academics without due process, using dubious allegations of links to terrorism or the July 2016 coup plot. It is also investigating and prosecuting academics on trumped-up terrorism charges. The authorities are interfering with student protests on campus, and prosecuting student activists. And officials are interfering with academic research on controversial topics. Together these actions are creating a climate of fear and self-censorship on campus, and breaching Turkey’s obligations under human rights law to respect and protect academic freedom and freedom of expression.
Since the 2016 coup attempt, more than 5,800 academics have been dismissed from public universities under emergency decrees, as part of a general crackdown on public employees with alleged ties to “terrorist organizations” (opposition parties/Kurds). Those fired cannot challenge their cases with their employers. In some cases, they lost health care coverage, and the government revoked their passports or froze their bank accounts. Family members have been fired from private sector jobs. Under the current state of emergency, put in place shortly after the coup attempt in July 2016, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan chairs the cabinet, which can pass emergency decrees without parliamentary scrutiny or the possibility of appeal to the constitutional court. Moreover, it is clear that the purges target a much wider group of people, including critics of the government, and human rights defenders. “We are very afraid,” one student said. “Our thoughts, our opinions, and our bodies are now targets of violence from all sides. We now don’t only think twice, but three or four times before we write or say something.”
