As Academics for Peace – Germany, we are organizing a demonstration to protest the imprisonment of Prof. Dr. Füsun Üstel in Turkey this week. Since the mass trials against all signatories of the Peace Petition titled “We Will Not Be A Party To This Crime” started more than a year ago, Prof. Dr. Üstel is now the first academic who is prisoned this week. Peace Petition was first publicised in 2016 by Academics for Peace to demand that Turkish authorities put an immediate end to its military operations in Kurdish provinces.

The crackdown on human rights and freedoms in Turkey continues as the Turkish State oppresses dissident voices ruthlessly to an extent that an academic is charged with “making propaganda for a terrorist organisation” and imprisoned for demanding peace. As hundreds of trials continue, currently 34 Peace Petition signatories will also be imprisoned soon after Prof. Dr. Üstel.

We are organising this demonstration to call on German society and media to stand in solidarity with Academics for Peace and raise our voices to stop the onslaught against human rights in Turkey.

We invite all the concerned media organisations and everyone who wants to stand with us to our demonstration on 09.05.2019 at 11:00 at Bebelplatz.

ACADEMICS FOR PEACE – GERMANY