academics

HALUK SAVAŞ AWARDS IN SOCIAL SCIENCES

Advocates of Silenced Turkey and Scholar Rights Watch Announce “HALUK SAVAS AWARDS” for academic projects that will focus on human rights and freedom issues in Turkey during the last decade.

CALENDAR

Submissions Open:
10/04/2020 00:00 a.m. EST

Submission Deadline:
08/30/2021 11:59 p.m. EST

Announcement of the award winners:
11/01/2021


AWARDS

PhD dissertation award:
Up to 5 awards, $2,000 each.

MS Thesis award:
Up to 5 awards, $1,000 each.

Publication in a peer-reviewed journal:
Up to 5 awards, $1,500 each.

Conference talk or proceeding:
Up to 5 awards, $1,000 each.

Honorable Mentions:
Up to 5 awards.

HOW TO APPLY?

You can click the link below to submit your application

Application Link

 

WHO IS Prof Dr. HALUK SAVAŞ?

Prof. Dr. Haluk Savaş was born in Adana, Turkey in 1966. He graduated from Marmara University School of Medicine (English) in 1991. In 1997, he received his residency in Psychiatry/Mental Health and Diseases at Bakırköy Psychiatric Hospital.

In 1999, he earned his master’s degree from the Middle East Institute at Marmara University in Sociology-Anthropology with a thesis on “Culture-Psychiatry Relationship”.

He served at Gaziantep University as an associate professor between the years 2003 and 2008, and as a professor between 2008 and 2016.

On September 1, 2016, he was expelled from Gaziantep University with a statutory decree during the State of Emergency after the July 2016 Coup attempt. He was soon arrested on allegations on plotting against the government. He developed pancreatic cancer during his time in prison. His diagnosis and treatment were delayed. He was released by the court for his surgery and was later acquitted after trial.

Despite being cleared of all charges, he was deprived of his legal rights, including obtaining a passport, retirement benefits, and workers’ compensation.

Because he was denied a passport, Dr Savas could not get the available and necessary treatment abroad. Consequently, he tried to make his voice heard in the social media. As a result of the campaign, which was launched with the hashtag #HalukSavaşaPasaport [Passport for Haluk Savaş], the government reluctantly issued his passport. Haluk Savaş became a widely recognized figure as a result of this campaign.

He took part in the establishment of KHK Platforms to be the voice for the 200,000 people who were expelled from their jobs by the statutory decrees. Despite the progression of his illness, he traveled to many cities to initiate the efforts to unify and coordinate these people. He was one of the founders of a YouTube channel called KHK TV and served as its editor-in- chief. By the establishments of news outlets khktv.com and ozgurplatform.com news sites, he became a prominent figure in the KHK struggle against the government.

In the meantime, he contributed to ahvalnews.com and continued his scientific efforts through his website and personal social media accounts. He kept providing patient care at his private clinic in Adana.

Prof. Dr. Haluk Savaş passed away on June 30, 2020.

PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

  • With his 80 international and 80 national scholarly papers, he has the highest number of publications (160 in total) among Turkish psychiatrists.
  • With 4300 citations, he has the third highest impact factor among Turkish psychiatrists.
  • Authored 7 booklets about patient education.
  • Author of 4 booklets in professional training in psychiatry
  • Contributed to many scientific books as a chapter-author.
  • Edited and reviewed several papers, books and articles.
  • Gave hundreds of talks at various national and international conferences.

ONGOING HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN TURKEY

Since the alleged coup attempt in 2016, Turkish government has been carrying out profound human rights violations against hundreds of thousands of people – from arbitrary deprivation of the right to work and to freedom of movement, to torture and other ill-treatment, arbitrary detentions and infringements of the rights to freedom of association and expression.

The Erdogan government is disregarding the rights of its dissidents. More than 200 thousand people have been arbitrarily detained and over 80 thousand people have been arrested on terrorism charges. Furthermore, detainees are being exposed to severe torture and ill-treatment by the hands of State officials. More than 170,000 public officials have been dismissed since July 2016. Those dismissed from their jobs lost their income, social benefits, medical insurance and even their homes.

One of the most distressing acts of the Turkish authorities is incarceration of pregnant women and new mothers. Some are imprisoned with their children and others are cruelly separated from them. As of now, over 800 hundred children under the age of six are in jails across Turkey with their mothers, detained or arrested as part of the government crackdown on its dissidents.

Turkish government has been expanding its unlawful actions to the foreign land and overseas. Several abductions against perceived political opponents of President Erdogan’s administration have been conducted by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) in violation of the international legal norms.

The erosion of rule of law and democracy in Turkey has been continuing at an alarming rate.

 


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ERDOGAN’S LONG ARMS: ABDUCTIONS IN TURKEY AND ABROAD


The Origins of the Problem

Turkey’s struggle to draw the country more in line with the pillars of the European Union faced a long and accelerating slide. The country’s Freedom in the World score has been in free fall since 2014 due to an escalating series of assaults on the press, social media users, protesters, political parties, the judiciary, and the electoral system, as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan fought to impose personalized control over the state and society in a deteriorating domestic and regional security environment.

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SCIENTIFIC REGRESSION IN TURKEY IN THE AFTERMATH OF JULY 15th –1: ERCİYES UNIVERSITY

The alleged coup attempt of the July 15th struck the real impact in the field of education. The most important pillars of education, universities were closed, thousands of educated academics were discharged overnight without any reason, and even sent to prisons. This study analyzes the negative effects of the academic slaughter that took place in one of Turkey’s most reputable universities after the July 15th, The Erciyes University.

Erciyes University was founded in 1978 under the name of Kayseri University. It was renamed Erciyes University in 1982. Today, Erciyes University serves with 19 faculties, 1 college, 2 vocational schools, 7 institutes, 6 departments, 44 research centers, and an advanced practice hospital with 1350 beds. In addition to Gevher Nesibe Hospital, Cardiovascular Diseases Hospital, Organ Transplantation and Dialysis Hospital, Oncology Hospital, Children’s Hospital and Bone Marrow Transplant and Stem Cell Treatment Center are the most important health institutions of the region. Approximately 65,000 students receive education [1]. In addition, Melikşah University, which was closed unlawfully on 23 July 2016, was transferred to Erciyes University and the campus of MELİKŞAH University was named “Erciyes University, The July 15th Campus” [2].

The toll numbers reached 6070 just for public university academics in Turkey after the July 15th [3]. 2,808 academics in 15 terminated foundation universities were not included in this number. 144 people, namely 6% of the total academics, were discharged from the 2398 academics at ERCIYES University after the so-called coup attempt. The distribution of the discharged academics regarding their ranks has given in Table 1.

ACADEMIC TITLE   #of DISCHARGED
Professor 27
Assoc. Prof. 31
Assist. Prof. 35
Instructor 10
Research Fellow 40
Expert 1
TOTAL 144

Table 1 Academic ranking of the discharged professors at Erciyes University

Objective measurement of scientific contributions of academics is widely used to understand the quality of universities and countries in the world. Google Scholar [4] is an important open source where researchers can track their publications, citation numbers, and index values. In this analysis, the Google Scholar criterion was taken to examine the scientific contributions of the discarded academics. The average number of citations of the discarded academics was calculated as 891.83, which is quite impressive. For example, Professor SALİH ÖZGÖÇMEN has 10261; Assistant Professor KAZIM ZİYA GÜMÜŞ has 10159 citations.

In addition to that, an important demonstration of broad success to be underlined is that 24 academics have more than 500 citations, as well as 52 academics, have more than 100 citations. In addition to the number of citations, the index values of the dismissed academics were also examined. H-index is more reliable in measuring qualified scientific contributions since it measures the number of publications and citation efficiency together. Academic Data Management publishes the h-index numbers within the system. But instead of publishing all the academics, they list the first 20 with the highest citations in their field [5]. According to the current figures of the Academic Data Management System, the average h-index of 20 academicians with the highest h-index number of ERCİYES University is calculated as 14. The h-index average of the dismissed academics was found to be 13.10, which clearly shows their contribution to ERCIYES University.

Despite the fact that only 6% of the academics at ERCIYES University were discharged after the alleged coup of the July 15th, and all the facilities and infrastructure of MELIKSAH University were seized, a 17% dramatic decline in the ranking of the academic achievement in the world could not be prevented [10]. The above information shows clearly, how the alleged coup attempt impacted the scientific research in ERCIYES University and Turkey.

REFERENCES

1.https://www.erciyes.edu.tr/kategori/ERU -HAKKINDA/Tarihce/2/58
2.https://www.erciyes.edu.tr/Duyuru-Haber/ Kapatilan-Meliksah-UniversitesiYerleskesine-%E2%80%9CErciyes-Universitesi -15-/5579
3.http://bianet.org/bianet/ifadeozgurlugu/198990-akademide-ihraclar-6-bin81-e-yukseldi
4.https://scholar.google.com/
5.https://avesis.erciyes.edu.tr/raporlar/ atiflar/h-indeksi-en-yuksek-olanakademisyenler
6.https://www.haberler.com/40-yil-erzurum -da-hizmet-verdi-simdi-kayseri-nin-haberi/
7.http://drkuk.net/dr-kuk-hakkinda/
8.https://twitter.com/docmustafatutak/ status/1276919068621225984/photo/1
9.https://www.veteknoloji.net/haber/ elektromanyetik-dalgalara-etkili-kumas51455.html

 


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Joint Letter by the Human Rights Advocates on the Release of Political Prisoners in Turkey’s Jails

PROMINENT GROUP OF 205 SIGNATORIES CONSISTING OF ACADEMICS, JURISTS, JOURNALISTS, POLITICIANS, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS CALL ON TURKEY TO URGENTLY RELEASE POLITICAL PRISONERS IN THE MIDST OF PANDEMIC.

The notoriously overcrowded prisons in Turkey pose serious health threats to inmates during the coronavirus pandemic. The justice reform law passed by the Turkish Parliament that permanently released thousands of prisoners excluded inmates serving time for political crimes, so-called “terrorism.” As many prominent human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, acknowledged, those inmates are being held in pretrial detention or sentenced without evidence that they committed violent acts, incited violence, or provided logistical help to outlawed armed groups and their lives are at risk. As indicated in the complaints by the written and oral statements of their families, the inmates’ rights to life – which is among the most basic and universal human rights and is protected by the 10th amendment of the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey and the article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) – are under clear, serious, and near threat. We are deeply concerned about the escalation of health issues of aforesaid prisoners since cancer and other severe illnesses have increased in Turkish jails. The undersigned jurists, academics, human rights activists, journalists, and politicians, who are concerned with human rights issues, call on the Turkish authorities to urgently release the political prisoners and the prisoners of conscience in Turkish jails before the risk of mass death hits.

SIGNATORIES FROM JURISTS, ACADEMICS, POLITICIANS, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS, AND JOURNALISTS

1- Mike O’neal, Attorney, O’neal Consulting, Kansas
2- Dr. James C. Juhnke, Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas
3- Rimsie McConiga, Journalist, Kansas 4- Laurie Dipadova-stocks, Park University
5- Tom Nanney, Visiting Associate Professor University of Missouri/Kansas City School of Law
6- Marcella Sirhandi, Emeritus Professor, Oklahoma State University
7- Doris Chang, Professor of History
8- Prof. Eve Levin, University of Kansas
9- Jude Huntz, Professor of Philosophy, Devry University,
10- Mary Gibson McCoy, Attorney, Missouri
11- Delores Chambers, Professor, Kansas State University,
12- Edgar Chambers, Professor, Kansas State University,
13- Deb Woodard, UMKC Associate Teaching Professor Emerita, Missouri
14- Sofia Khan, MD, Human right activist, founder of K.C. for Refugees, Kansas
15- Gulnar Eziz, Harvard University, MA
16- Stephanie Sabato, Professor Emerita, JCCC, Kansas
17- Judy Ancel, UMKC professor Emerita, Missouri
18- Vince Wetta, State Representative, Kansas
19- Arbana Xharra, Journalist, NY
20- Shruti Mukherjee, Scholar, Stony Brook Univ, NY
21- Steve Sunderland, Ph.D., Director of Cancer Justice Network
22- Gretchen Eick, Ph.D., Professor of History, Emerita, Friends University, Wichita, Kansas Visiting Professor, University of Dzemal Bijedic, Mostar, Bosnia, and Herzegovina
23- Kai Breaux, Scholar, Stony Brook Univ, NY
24- Michael Rubin, Resident Scholar / AEI, USA
25- Lucinda White, Attorney, Kansas
26- Valerie Moyer, Scholar, Stony Brook Univ, NY
27- Carlos Mondlane, Judge, Mozambique
28 – Former Canadian Senator Nancy Ruth.
29- Ruth Schowalter, Lecturer / Georgia Tech Language Institute, GA
30- Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, Professor, Writer, Kansas Poet Laureate, Kansas
31- Scott Thumma, Professor of Sociology of Religion Director, D.Min. Program Director, Hartford Institute for Religion Research, CT
32- Kari O’rourke, Human Rights Activist, Missouri
33- Wendi Lynn See, Attorney, South Carolina
34- Hakan Acar, LLB, LLM, CPLLM, Ph.D. Barrister and Solicitor Law Society of Ontario, Canada
35- Beth Murano, Attorney, Missouri
36- Curtis Smith, Professor Emerita, Kansas City Kansas Community College, Kansas
37- Sheila Sonnenschein, Human Rights Activist, Community Volunteer, Kansas,
38- Rev. Jennifer Bryan, Human Rights Activist, Kansas
39- Martin Okpareke, Community Outreach and Refugee Family Strengthening Program Manager, Jewish Vocational Services, Missouri
40- Sister Celia Deutsch, Human Rights Activist and Interfaith Coordinator of Our Lady of Refuge Church, New York
41- Sally Hipscher, Human Rights Activist and Chair of Interfaith Coalition of Brooklyn, New York
42- Rabbi Heidi Hoover, Rabbi, Beth Shalom v’Emeth, Brooklyn- NY
43- Margaret Rausch, Ph.D., Independent Scholar, and Freelance Editor and Translator, Kansas
44- Kelly Hansen, Chaplain, Human Rights activist, Missouri
45- Delores Jankovich, Social Worker, Human Rights activist, Missouri
46- The Honorable Judy Sgro, Member of Parliament, Canada
47- Anca Dumitrescu Jelea, Lawyer, JAD Law, CANADA
48- Syndey Carlin, State Representative, Kansas,
49- Lebert Shultz, Attorney at Law, Sheridan at Overland Park, Kansas
50- Dennis Hill, Teacher, Human Rights Activist, Missouri
51- Sophia Pandya, Professor of Religious Studies, Department Chair, California State University at Long Beach, California
52- Kathleen Kirby, Human right activist, and Teacher New Hampshire
53- Josh Hoops, Associate Professor at William Jewell College, Missouri
54- Ed Chasteen, Professor, President HateBusters, Missouri
55- Zoey Shu-Yi Chu, Scholar, Stony Brook University, NY
56- Calvin Hayden, Johnson County Sheriff – Johnson County, KS
57- Shannon S Shaw, lecturer, Texas State University, TX
58- Nance Davies, Artist, Scholar at Massachusetts College of Art and Design
59- Anne Conger, Human Rights Activist, a student in Union Theological Seminary, NY
60- Ramou Colley, Executive Director, the Rahma Project, Sussex, ENGLAND
61- Marina Colorado, News Journalist, France 24 Espanol, Colombia
62- Mario Goico, Retired State Representative, Kansas
63- Sherry Dean Rovelo, Ph.D. Professor, Speech Communication Richland College, Dallas, TX
64- Dr. Ruben L.F. Habito/Professor of World Religions and Spirituality / Director of Spiritual Formation / SMU (South Methodist University) / Texas
65- Rosanne Marie Oates, Human Rights Activist, New York University, NY
66- Elena Chung, Human Rights Activist, New York University, NY
67- Cecilia McLaren, Human Rights Activist, New York University, NY
68- Yasmine Garay, Human Rights Activist, New York University, NY
69- Jodie Adams Kirshner, Research Professor, New York University, NY
70- Corliss Jacobs, Human Rights Activist, Vice President of Board, Cross Border Network for Justice and Solidarity, Kansas
71- Melissa Stiehler, Human Rights Activist, Vice President of Board, Cross Border Network for Justice and Solidarity, Kansas
72- Peggy Neal, Melissa Stiehler, Human Rights Activist, Board Member, Cross Border Network for Justice and Solidarity, Kansas
73- Clara Irazabal, Professor, Director, University of Missouri – Kansas City, Missouri
74- Marc Garcelon, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Missouri – Kansas City, Missouri
75- Joseph D Jacobs, Human Rights Activist, Missouri
76- G. Dale Mathey, Human Rights Activist, Board Member, Cross Border Network for Justice and Solidarity, Kansas
77- Maeve Cummings, Professor, Pittsburg State University, Kansas
78- Lynne Vanahill, Director of International Student Support Services, Kansas
79- Theresa Torres, Professor, University of Missouri – Kansas City, Missouri
80- Ronald A. Slepitza, President, Avila University, Missouri
81-Michael Poage, Human rights Activist, Author, Kansas
82- Manuela Gonzalez-Bueno, Professor, University of Kansas, Kansas
83- Gail Finney, State Representative, Kansas
84- Tyler A. Shipley, Ph.D. Professor of Culture, Society, and Commerce, Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, CANADA
85- Morgan Phillips, City Editor of TulsaPeople Magazine, Oklahoma
86- Dr. Catherine Webster, Dean of Liberal Arts College, University of Central Oklahoma, Oklahoma
87- Patrick Raglow, Executive Director of Catholic Charities of Central Oklahoma, Oklahoma
88- Christopher Wright, Scholar / Montana State University, MONTANA
89- Lauren Petersen, Esq, immigration attorney, CT
90- Parvez Mohsin, Director of Nashville International Center for Empowerment, Nashville TN
91- Dr. Ron Massier, Emeritus Professor, Nashville TN
92- Rev. Ellen Sims, pastor, Mobile, AL
93- Kristen James, Chief Development Officer(Non-profit Leader), 29 Acres, TX
94- Styliani Markaki Attorney, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
95- Amanda Roche, Artist, Human Rights Activist, Nashville TN
96- Ellen Gilbert, Executive Director, Global Education Center, Nashville TN
97- Reverend (Rev.) Debra Loudin-McCann, TX
98- John O’Neil, Associate Superintendent, Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Newark
99- Nelda K. Latham, Mathematics Professor, Bergen Community College, NJ
100- Ruth Feigenbaum, Mathematics Professor, Bergen Community College, NJ
101- Valeria Correa, Human Rights Activist, Rutgers University, NJ
102- Asma Bawla, Human Rights Activist, New York University, NY
103- Edward E. Goode, Human Rights Activist, Missouri
104- Caroline Davies, Associate Professor, University of Missouri – Kansas City, Missouri
105- Stu Shafer, Professor, Johnson County Community College, Kansas
106- Akash Patel, Human Rights Activist, Founder of Happy World Foundation Inc., Oklahoma
107- Shona Tritt, Ph.D., Clinical psychologist, Lecturer, University of Toronto Scarborough Campus
108- Lisa Wolfe, Professor, Oklahoma City University, Oklahoma
109- Rev. Dr. Richard Nelson, Scholar, Nashville TN
110- Honorable Phil Ramos Deputy Majority Leader. New York State Assemblyman, Brentwood NY-Honorable
111- Bob Sweney Former New York State Assemblyman, Lindenhurst, NY
112- Honorable Michelle Schimel, Former New York State Assemblywoman, Port Washington, NY
113- Tom Goodhue Executive Director Emeritus, Long Island Council of Churches, New York, NY
114- Rabbi Steven Moss, Chair Emeritus, Suffolk County Human Rights Commission, Oakdale, NY
115- Rev. William F. Brisotti Pastor, Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church, Wyandanch NY
116- Reverend JoAnn Barrett, The founder of Gathering of Light Interspiritual Fellowship. Huntington, NY Co-Chair, Suffolk County Anti-Bias Task Force, NY
117- Rev. Dr. Walter H. Wagner, Ph.D. Professor, Pastor and Author, Bethlehem, PA
118- Richard Koubek, Ph.D. Community Outreach Coordinator, Long Island Jobs with Justice, Suffolk County NY
119- Thomas Petriano, Ph.D. Professor of Religious Studies, St Joseph’s College Patchogue NY
120- Latifa Woodhouse and Colin Woodhouse Co-Chairs Shared Humanity of USA, New York
121- Soh Young Lee-Segredo, Former Nassau County Human Rights Commissioner, NY Multicultural Council of NY
122- Edward Andrew, Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5s 3G3, Canada. Ed Andrew
123-Catherine Green, Professor, Missouri
124- Peter Milliken, Former Canadian Member of Parliament and the Speaker of Canadian Parliament from 2001 to 2010.
125- David Kilgour, Former Member of Parliament (M.P.) and Secretary of State. Canada
126- Ornela Bego, Lawyer, TX
127- Karman Kurban, Assistant Professor, North American University
128- Lisa DiCarlo, Professor & Human Right activist, Brown University, Rhode Island
129- Aesetou Hydara, Human Rights Activist, New York University
130- Jihad Elgouz, Human Rights Activist, New York University
131- Jenna Elshahawi, Human Rights Activist, Rutgers University
132- Miguel Isidoro, Human Rights Activist, Pace University
133- Benjamin S. Yost, Professor of Philosophy, Adjunct, Cornell University
134- Susan Ashbrook Harvey, Professor of History and Religion, Brown University
135- Johan Heymans, Lawyer, Belgium
136- Rev. Don Cottrill, Human Rights Activist, Louisiana
137- Robert Mann, Professor, Manship Chair, Louisiana
138- Vicki Dauterive, Human Rights Activist, Together Baton Rouge, Louisiana
139-Jane Chandler, Professor, Louisiana
140- Sissy Stephans, Human Rights Activist, Louisiana
141-Dauda Sessay, Human Rights Activist, Louisiana Organization for Refugees and Immigrants, Louisiana
142-Rev. Michael Habert, Human Rights Activist, Louisiana
143-Alcibiades P. Tsolakis, Professor and Dean, College of Art and Design, Louisiana State University, Louisiana
144-Roxanne Stoehr, Professor, Southeastern Louisiana University, Louisiana
145-Sonny Marchbanks, Political Consultant, Mars De Banques, Louisiana
146-Vicki Brooks, Human Rights Activist, Together Baton Rouge, Louisiana
147-Al Gensler, Retired, Urban Development Director, City of Baton Rouge, Louisiana
148-Marilyn Gensler, Human Rights Activist, Louisiana
149-Dawud Sesay, Human Rights Activist, Louisiana
150-Dr. Richard Webb, Professor, and Dean Emeritus, Southern University Baton Rouge, Louisiana
151-Christopher Gerdes, Professor of History, North American University, TX
152- Sherly Sullivan, Attorney, Oklahoma
153- Prof. Amy Remensnyder, Professor of History, Brown University
154- Laura Faria-Tancinco, Human Rights Activist, Rhode Island College
155- Sevdenur Cizginer, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Brown University
156- Mohammad Niamat Elahee Ph.D., Professor, Dept. of International Business, Quinnipiac University, CT
157- Naoko Shibusawa, Associate Professor of History, Brown University, RI
158- Bathsheba Demuth, Assistant Professor of Environment and Society & History, Brown University, RI
159- Lopita Nath, Ph.D., Professor, University of the Incarnate Word, TX
160-Martha Ann Kirk, Ph.D., Professor of Humanities, University of the Incarnate Word, TX
161-Armen Babajanian, Executive Director at World Affairs Council of San Antonio, TX
162-Simran Jeet Singh, Ph.D., Visiting Professor, Union Seminary, NY
163-Larry Hufford, Ph.D., Professor, St. Mary’s University, TX
164-Pastor Paul Ziese, Human Rights Activist, TX
165-John Comer, Professor Emeritus, Chair of Political Science Department, University of Nebraska Lincoln, Nebraska
166-Nancy Comer, Retired Teacher, Lincoln Public Schools, Vice Pres of Friendship Force, Lincoln, NE
167-Professor Thomas Dinapoli, Languages DepartmentLouisiana State University, Louisiana
168- Dr. Ahmet Sanic, Former Vice President Alatoo-International University, United Kingdom
169- Seyit Kaya, Information Communication Technology, Educator, United Kingdom
170- Rev. James C. Harrington, Human Rights Activist, Texas
171 Dr. Ramin Ahmadoghlu, Researcher, Emiry University, Georgia
172- Omer Kuru, Professor, University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom
173- Ali Yurtsever, Human Rights Activist and Executive Director, İslamic Society of Midwest, Illinois
174- Isaac Gold, Executive Director, Huddled Masses, Illinois
175- Mehmet Sayın, Professor, Texas
176- Kamaruddin Mohd Yusoff, Professor, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
177- Robert Adan Williams, Educator, California
178- Mehmet Karadayi, Ph.D., Educator, Colombia
179- Salih, Professor, Georgia
180- Avery Rollins, Retired FBI Agent, Mississippi
181- Catherine Freis, Emerita Professor of Greek and Roman Studies at Millsaps College, Mississippi
182- Richard Freis, Emeritus Professor of Greek and Roman Studies at Millsaps College, Mississippi
183- Jeremy Tobin, Priest and Human Rights Activist, Mississippi
184- Adele Crudden, Professor, Mississippi
185- Robert McElvaine, Professor of History at Millsaps College, Mississippi
186- Joan Mylroie, Retired Faculty at Mississippi State University, Mississippi
187- Steve Smith, Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Millsaps College, Mississippi
188- Rims Barber, Mississippi Human Services Coalition, Mississippi
189- Judy Barber, Mississippi Human Services Coalition, Mississippi
190- James Bowley, Professor and Chair of Religious Studies at Millsaps College, Mississippi
191- Dr. Mark McLain, M.D., Mississippi
192- Sen. Hillman Frazier, Mississippi State Senator, Mississippi
193- Dr. David Breaux, Former Dean, College of Arts and Sciences at Delta State University, Mississippi
194- Ali Dag, Associate Professor, Creighton University, Nebraska,
195- Ferhat Ozturk, Ph.D., Biomedical Science Teacher, Texas
196- Thomas Dinapoli, Professor, Louisiana State University, Louisiana
197- Adv. Ashraf Muhammed, Former Chairman of Western Cape and Member of National Association of Democratic Lawyers(NADEL), Cape Town, South Africa
198- Amina Frense, Council Member of South African National Editors Forum (SANEF) and Chairperson at the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism, Johannesburg, South Africa
199- Kisten Govender, Elected Member of South African Legal Practice Council, Durban, South Africa
200- Ela Gandhi, granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, Founder of Gandhi Development Trust, Durban, South Africa
201- Judy Sandison, Founder Member of South African National Editor’s Forum (SANEF), Former Provincial Editor of South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), Durban, South Africa
202- Dr. Huseyin DURU, Professor, Texas
203- Dr. Havva Simsek, Professor, United Kingdom
204-Howard Gordon, Presbyterian Minister, Activist, Arkansas
205-Mehmet Halidun, Assistant Professor, Arkansas Tech University, Arkansas

 

 

 

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM TURKEY 2019 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT BY UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE

The United States Department of State released Turkey 2019 Human Rights Report which has critical points regarding human rights violations in Turkey.

For Example;

  • As many as 100 persons, including former members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, dismissed under the 2016-18 state of emergency decrees due to suspected ties to the Gulen movement, were mistreated or tortured while in police custody.
  • 780 Children including children younger than six years of age were being held in prison with their mothers.
  • The government did not release data on its investigations into alleged torture. Some doctors would not sign their names to medical reports alleging torture due to fear of reprisal. As a result, victims were often unable to get the medical documentation that would help prove their claims.
  • On the three-year anniversary of the July 15 coup attempt, the government announced that 540,000 individuals had been detained since the coup attempt on grounds of alleged affiliation or connection with the Gulen movement.
  • There were 41,000 individuals in prison for terror-related crimes. Of these, 28,000 were Gulen movement-related.
  • The government exerts power in the administration of 90 percent of the most-watched television stations and most-read national daily newspapers.

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SRW TÜRKİYE’DE 2016-2020 YILLARI ARASI AKADEMİK BAŞARI DEĞİŞİM RAPORU

Bu çalışma, 2016 darbe teşebbüsü ile başlayan olağanüstü hâl yönetimi ve KHK’ların Türkiye’deki üniversitelerin başarı değişimini analiz etmeyi amaçlamaktadır.

Türkiye’de 15 Temmuz 2016’da meydana gelen sözde darbe teşebbüsünden sonra çıkan 11 KHK ile toplamda 6,070 akademisyenin 122 devlet kurumundaki işlerine son verildi [1]. Ayrıca 15 vakıf üniversitesinin de tamamen kapatılması ile 2,808 akademisyen daha bu sayıya eklendi [2] ve resmi rakamlara göre; toplamda 8,878 akademisyenin görevlerine son verildi. Türkiye’deki akademisyen sayısı 15 Temmuz öncesi 64,488 olarak görülmektedir ve eğitim sisteminde bir akademisyenin yetişmesi için lisans ve lisansüstü çalışmalar göz önüne alındığında ortalama 12 yıl gibi bir zaman ve emek harcanması gerekmektedir. OECD raporlarına göre ise bir insanın ilköğretimden başlayarak akademisyen olana kadarki harcama miktarı ise ortalama olarak 124,448 Amerikan doları seviyesindedir [3].

Universite Atilan Toplam Akademisyen Sayisi Toplam Akademisyen Sayisi Atilan Oran(%)
Abant Izzet Baysal 78 1333 5.9
Adiyaman 67 862 7.8
Adnan Menderes 54 1726 3.1
Afyon Kocatepe 93 1360 6.8
Akdeniz 115 2492 4.6
Anadolu 68 2188 3.1
Ankara 133 3732 3.6
Atatürk 152 2703 5.6
Balikesir 67 1032 6.5
Bülent Ecevit 71 1287 5.5
Çanakkale 18 Mart 205 1653 12.4
Celal Bayar 140 1651 8.5
Cumhuriyet 56 1858 3
Dicle 172 1935 8.9
Dokuz Eylül 46 3381 1.4
Dumlupınar 168 1239 13.6
Ege 45 3175 1.4
Erciyes 145 2398 6
Erzincan 54 916 5.9
Eskişehir Osmangazi 46 1542 3
Fırat 47 1741 2.7
Gazi 233 3982 5.9
Gaziantep 128 1644 7.8
Gaziosmanpaşa 59 1286 4.6
Gebze Teknik 19 154 12.3
Hacettepe 74 3720 2
Harran 68 1012 6.7
İnönü 58 1672 3.5
İstanbul 192 5445 3.5
İstanbul Teknik 32 2211 1.4
Kafkas 30 890 3.4
Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam 126 1305 9.7
Karabük 50 995 5
Karadeniz Teknik 44 2528 1.7
Kırıkkkale 74 1226 6
Kocaeli 57 2098 2.7
Marmara 102 3201 3.2
Mersin 33 1630 2
Muğla Sıtkı Koçman 38 1523 2.5
Mustafa Kemal 105 1060 9.9
Niüde Ömer Halisdemir 36 891 4
Ondokuz Mayıs 123 2347 5.2
Pamukkale 181 1995 9.1
Sakarya 97 2010 4.8
Selçuk 126 2732 4.6
Süleyman Demirel 271 2303 11.8
Trakya 29 1701 1.7
Uludağ 38 2474 1.5
Yıldız Teknik 114 1754 6.5
Yüzüncü Yıl 73 1705 4.3

Son olarak, sıralamadaki değişimin ihraç oranına bölünmesi ile oluşturulan kişisel başarı endeksi (atılanların akademik başarıya katkı endeksi) hesaplanmıştır. Buradaki amaç, ihraç edilen insanların üniversitelerin başarısına olan etkisini hesaplamaktır. Listenin en başında olan ve de en çok dikkat çeken Ege Üniversitesi’dir. Ege Üniversite’sinde toplam ihraç edilen akademisyen sayısı 45 ve oranı %1.4 olmasına rağmen, bu üniversitenin dünya çapındaki sıralaması 674’ten 913’e gerilemiştir ki, bu da akademik başarının %35 oranında düştüğünü göstermektedir. Ege Üniversitesi’nin söz konusu endeksi 25.33 olarak hesaplanmıştır. Benzer şekilde listenin üçüncü sırasında, İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi’nde toplam ihraç edilen akademisyen sayısı 32 ve oran %1.4 olmasına rağmen bu üniversitenin dünya çapındaki sıralaması ise %19 civarında düşüş göstermiş, endeksi 13.76 olmuştur. Bu endeksin en yüksek olduğu üniversiteler Şekil 4’te verilmiştir.

Daha fazla bilgiye sayfanın üstünde yer alan PDF Link’ine tıklayarak ulaşabilirsiniz….

References

  1. Kural, B., Adal, H. (2018, July). Haber Listesi : Akademide İhraçlar 6 Bin 81’e Yükseldi.
    Retrieved from: http://bianet.org/bianet/ifade-ozgurlugu/198990-akademide-ihraclar-6-bin-81-e-yukseldi
  2. Kural, B., (2016, August). Haber Listesi : Sayılarla Kapatılan Üniversiteler.
    Retrieved from: https://m.bianet.org/bianet/egitim/177442-sayilarla-kapatilan-universiteler
  3. University Ranking by Academic Performance.(n.d.)
    Retrieved from: http://tr.urapcenter.org/2019/index.php
  4. Country Note, (2014). Turkey–Education at a Glance 2014: OECD Indicators.
    Retrieved from: https://www.oecd.org/education/Turkey-EAG2014-Country-Note.pdf
  5. Yuksek Ogretim Bilgi Yonetim Sistemi, (n.d.).
    Retrieved from: https://istatistik.yok.gov.tr/
  6. http://www.webometrics.info/en

 


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GRAVE DECLINE IN ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT BETWEEN 2016-2020 IN TURKEY

This study aims to analyze the impacts of the state of emergency declared after the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey on the academic achievements of the universities.

After the coup attempt on July 15th of 2016 in Turkey, a total of 6,070 academics have been dismissed from 122 state institutions following 11 issued emergency decrees (KHK)[1]. 2,808 academics have been added to this list with the closure of 15 private universities [2]. In total,  8,878 academics have been dismissed from their jobs, corresponding to nearly 15 percent of the number of academics in Turkey. The academics who voluntarily left the country are not included in this number.

Considering graduate and undergraduate studies, an average of 12 years should be spent on being an academic. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the average amount of expenditure of a person starting from primary education until becoming an academic is approximately 124.448 USD [3]. This means Turkey’s financial loss to be roughly around 1.1 billion USD.

In this study, the impacts on the worldwide success ranking of the universities after the cruelty that occurred in public universities in Turkey are examined. The top 50 universities of Turkey are also amongst the 122 universities from where the academics were dismissed. The total number of dismissed academics from the 50 universities is 4,632. Table 1 and Figure 1 detail the number of dismissed academics on a university basis. Dumlupınar University ranks highest on that list, with its 13.6% of academics having been dismissed by emergency decrees. On average, one in every 7 scientists was dismissed. Figure 2 shows that 20 universities have the highest rate in this regard.

Observing the rate of change in academic ranking on a university basis reveals that the success rankings of these institutions decreased by an average of 18%, despite 5% dismissal rate at the top 50 universities [4]. This is an important indicator showing the contribution of the dismissed academics to the scientific achievements in Turkey. Another issue to consider is that instead of dismissed academics, new academics were recruited between 2016 and 2019, thereby increasing the total number of academics by around 7% [5]. Despite the new recruitments, academic setbacks at such a high level are very thought-provoking. The universities which had significant changes in the academic ranking are identified in Figure 3. Celal Bayar University ranks highest on that list, attracting large attention. It ranked 2,207 in the world university rankings before July 2016; however, its ranking dropped to 4,755 in December of 2019, a dramatic change by 109%. Celal Bayar University is followed by Bülent Ecevit University with a 70% drop rate. Noticeably, 42 of the 50 universities experienced a decrease in the world rankings, whereas only  8 universities’ rankings remained the same.

In conclusion, the personal success index (contribution index of the dismissed to academic success), which is formed by dividing the change in the ranking by the rate of dismissing, was calculated. The aim was to calculate the impact of dismissed academics on the success of universities. At this point, the most notable one is Ege University which is ranked highest on that list. Although the total number of dismissed academics at Ege University was 45 and its rate is 1.4%, the global ranking of this university has decreased from 674 to 913, which indicates that academic success has decreased by 35%. The index of this university was calculated at 25.33. Similarly, in the third place of the list, although the total number of dismissed academics at Istanbul Technical University was 32 and the rate was 1.4%, the world ranking of this university decreased by 19% and its index was 13,76. The universities that have the highest index are stated in Figure 4.

University Number of
dismissed academics
Total number
of academics
Rate of dismissed
academics (%)
Abant Izzet Baysal 78 1333 5.9
Adiyaman 67 862 7.8
Adnan Menderes 54 1726 3.1
Afyon Kocatepe 93 1360 6.8
Akdeniz 115 2492 4.6
Anadolu 68 2188 3.1
Ankara 133 3732 3.6
Atatürk 152 2703 5.6
Balikesir 67 1032 6.5
Bülent Ecevit 71 1287 5.5
Çanakkale 18 Mart 205 1653 12.4
Celal Bayar 140 1651 8.5
Cumhuriyet 56 1858 3
Dicle 172 1935 8.9
Dokuz Eylül 46 3381 1.4
Dumlupınar 168 1239 13.6
Ege 45 3175 1.4
Erciyes 145 2398 6
Erzincan 54 916 5.9
Eskişehir Osmangazi 46 1542 3
Fırat 47 1741 2.7
Gazi 233 3982 5.9
Gaziantep 128 1644 7.8
Gaziosmanpaşa 59 1286 4.6
Gebze Teknik 19 154 12.3
Hacettepe 74 3720 2
Harran 68 1012 6.7
İnönü 58 1672 3.5
İstanbul 192 5445 3.5
İstanbul Teknik 32 2211 1.4
Kafkas 30 890 3.4
Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam 126 1305 9.7
Karabük 50 995 5
Karadeniz Teknik 44 2528 1.7
Kırıkkkale 74 1226 6
Kocaeli 57 2098 2.7
Marmara 102 3201 3.2
Mersin 33 1630 2
Muğla Sıtkı Koçman 38 1523 2.5
Mustafa Kemal 105 1060 9.9
Niüde Ömer Halisdemir 36 891 4
Ondokuz Mayıs 123 2347 5.2
Pamukkale 181 1995 9.1
Sakarya 97 2010 4.8
Selçuk 126 2732 4.6
Süleyman Demirel 271 2303 11.8
Trakya 29 1701 1.7
Uludağ 38 2474 1.5
Yıldız Teknik 114 1754 6.5
Yüzüncü Yıl 73 1705 4.3

 

You can read more from PDF Link….

 

References

  1. Kural, B., Adal, H. (2018, July). Haber Listesi : Akademide İhraçlar 6 Bin 81’e Yükseldi.
    Retrieved from: http://bianet.org/bianet/ifade-ozgurlugu/198990-akademide-ihraclar-6-bin-81-e-yukseldi
  2. Kural, B., (2016, August). Haber Listesi : Sayılarla Kapatılan Üniversiteler.
    Retrieved from: https://m.bianet.org/bianet/egitim/177442-sayilarla-kapatilan-universiteler
  3. University Ranking by Academic Performance.(n.d.)
    Retrieved from: http://tr.urapcenter.org/2019/index.php
  4. Country Note, (2014). Turkey–Education at a Glance 2014: OECD Indicators.
    Retrieved from: https://www.oecd.org/education/Turkey-EAG2014-Country-Note.pdf
  5. Yuksek Ogretim Bilgi Yonetim Sistemi, (n.d.).
    Retrieved from: https://istatistik.yok.gov.tr/
  6. http://www.webometrics.info/en

 


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KEY HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN TURKEY SINCE THE SO-CALLED COUP ATTEMPT

Following the so-called coup attempt on the 15th of July 2016, the Turkish government under the authoritarian leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken a wave of oppressive actions against not only the alleged coup plotters but also those that are perceived as critics of the regime. Currently, as part of Turkey’s post-coup crackdown, more than 130,000 people including judges, academics, teachers, journalists, police and military officers, and other public servants have been dismissed from their jobs. In correlation, more than 217,000 have been detained and 160,000 have been arrested. Amnesty International reports that detainees were “being held arbitrarily” with “no evidence establishing reasonable suspicion of criminal behavior” and that “only a tiny minority of them were accused of taking part in the actual events of the attempted coup”.

Amid the massive crackdown of hundreds of thousands of dissidents, human rights organizations and the U.N. Human Rights Council have noted that human rights are violated on a large scale by the Turkish government. Arbitrary killings, suspicious deaths of people in custody, forced disappearances, tortures, ill-treatments, injustice, and threats – mostly against the followers of the Gulen Movement, Kurds, and the Leftists – have been reported widespread during this large-scale witch-hunt.

As people continue to be arrested and many more tortured and abducted, the present brief of Advocates of Silenced Turkey (AST) highlights some of the key human rights concerns that have taken place in Turkey during this on-going period.

●  UNPRECEDENTED SCALE OF DISMISSALS: 

More than 130,000 public servants, with their names attached in lists to emergency orders, were dismissed by emergency decrees. These public servants included over 4,463 judges and prosecutors, 6,021 academics, 6,000 health-care professionals, 33,500 teachers, and 44,500 police and military officers. Not only were people dismissed arbitrarily but also banned permanently from working in the public sector – many were even banned to practice their profession.

  • COLLAPSE OF JUDICIARY SYSTEM:

With approximately 4,463 judges and prosecutors (including two judges from the Turkey’s highest court) dismissed permanently, over one-fifth of Turkey’s judiciary has been removed. Of those dismissed, at least 2,200 were jailed with their assets frozen due to their alleged links to the Gulen movement. Consequently, the climate of fear paralyzed the judges and prosecutors who still have their positions. The fear combined with the heavy government influence in the court system led to the collapse of the judiciary system and the deterioration of human rights in the country. As a result, Turkey ranked 109 out of 126 countries in 2019 on the rule of law index of the World Justice Project.

  • VICTIMIZATION OF LAWYERS:

Lawyers are among the many groups affected by the post-coup crackdown in Turkey. They were unlawfully associated with their clients’ alleged crimes. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that many lawyers were targeted with criminal investigations with little or no evidence. According to the Arrested Lawyers Initiative, over 1,500 lawyers were persecuted over the past three years including 14 lawyers who were presidents of provincial bar associations – of those persecuted lawyers, one third remained imprisoned before and during their trials, and 274 were convicted of membership of armed terrorist organizations and sentenced to long prison sentences. Furthermore, approximately 34 bar associations were shut down by presidential decree with alleged affiliations to terrorist organizations.

  • PERSECUTION OF ACADEMICS:

Following the coup attempt, 3,003 private schools and 15 universities linked to the Gülen movement were closed by a presidential decree. Eventually resulting in the displacement of over 60,000 students across the country. Over 8,500 academics reportedly lost their jobs either due to direct dismissals or university closures since September 2016 – and many of them were imprisoned. Large-scale dismissals of academics and teachers significantly damaged the education sector thus diminished the right to education.

  • BOOKS DESTROYED:

Turkey’s education minister Ziya Selçuk announced last week that 301,878 books had been destroyed as the government cracks down on anything linked to Fethullah Gülen. Turkish newspaper BirGün reported that 1.8m textbooks had been destroyed and reprinted for containing the “objectionable” word Pennsylvania, which is where Gülen lives.

  • THE MEDIA PURGE FOLLOWING THE ATTEMPTED COUP: 

In the aftermath of the failed coup, the government closed down 200 media outlets – including 53 newspapers, 37 radio stations, 34 TV channels, 29 publishing houses, 20 magazines, and six news agencies – with accused links to the Gulen movement, Kurdish opposition, or Leftists groups. Consequently, a total of 2,308 media workers and journalists have lost their jobs. The government canceled hundreds of press accreditations and revoked passports of an unknown number of journalists and their family members to ban them from traveling abroad. In addition, the government imprisoned a record-breaking number of journalists in the wake of the coup attempt – with that, Turkey became the world’s largest prison for journalists. The Platform for Independent Journalism (P24) reported that at least 126 journalists and media workers were in prison in Turkey as of October 2019 – among them, many were put in long solitary confinement. 

The absence of freedom of expression is not only a recurring problem for journalists but for citizens as well. In 2018, the Ministry of Interior reported that more than 7,000 individuals were detained for their social media posts after investigating 631,233 digital materials. In relation to the censorships and content restrictions in the country, Wikipedia has been blocked in Turkey since April of 2017. Currently, out of the 180 countries, Turkey ranks 157th on the Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders and is listed among ‘not free’ countries by the Freedom House.

  • CRACKDOWN ON HEALTH CARE SECTOR:

Turkish government has shut down 14 hospitals and 36 medical centers after the coup attempt on the pretext of alleged ties to the Gülen movement. Therefore, an estimated 21,000 health care professionals were laid off – including doctors, academics, nurses, midwives, and other hospital staff. Of those, 5,261 are medical doctors and academics who specialize in the medical sciences. The figures of how many health care professionals have been detained, arrested or currently in prison are estimated in the thousands. Given the longstanding issue of hospital and staff shortages in the country, the dismissals of health care professionals and the closure of hospitals left many patients in despair of medical care.

  • PRISON CONDITIONS:

With the persecution of tens of thousands of critics, the current population in Turkish prisons is 4-5 times higher than the normal capacity – it has increased from 171,267 inmates in 2015 to 260,144 in 2018. Given the capacity of 211,766, inmates are forced to remain in overcrowded cells. In order to free up space for more political prisoners, the government released nearly 34,000 convicts from prisons. The inadequate provision of health care to prisoners also remains a serious problem. Officially reported by the Ministry of Justice Prison and Correctional Facilities, there were 271 doctors serving nearly a quarter-million of the prison population – of whom, only eight were full-time. Insufficient access to freshwater, proper heating, ventilation, and lighting are other concerns for prison conditions. There are 62,669 political prisoners, 4,000 of them being women and 780 of them being children.

  • TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT:

Despite the government’s zero-tolerance claim for torture policy, human rights groups have reported widespread and systematic use of torture and ill-treatment in police custody following the coup-attempt – including severe beatings, threats of sexual assault and actual sexual assault, electric shocks, waterboarding, sleep deprivation, stress positions, long solitary confinement, and depriving of food and water. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) stated acts of torture and ill-treatment aimed “at extracting confessions or forcing detainees to denounce other Individuals” in its report on Turkey in 2017. The Human Rights Association (HRA) reported that the number of incidents where prisoners were subjected to torture and ill-treatment in detention centers and prisons was 2,178 in 2016, 2,415 in 2017, and 1,505 in 2018. The Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF) reported a total of 126 suspicious deaths and suicides since the coup attempt – most of those occurred in detention centers and prisons, seemingly a direct result of torture and ill-treatment.

  • ABDUCTIONS AND ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES:

In the aftermath of the coup attempt, forced disappearances made a comeback in Turkey. Opposing politicians and respected human rights groups claimed at least 128 abductions or possible enforced disappearances of individuals. Most of the victims were identified as dismissed public servants with alleged ties to the Gulen movement or critics of the government. Allegedly, victims were abducted outside detention facilities and illegally questioned and tortured by Turkey’s intelligence agency. Moreover, Turkey’s intelligence agency reportedly abducted over more than 100 alleged Gulen affiliates from 18 countries – individuals often deported illegally – against the universal conventions – by cooperative governments without due process.

  • WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN PRISON:

The prison conditions for women and children are exceedingly alarming. According to the Justice Ministry, as of 2017, nearly 10,000 women and 3,000 children under 18 are in Turkey’s prisons. The inhumane prison conditions also hold weight in women prisons. They face additional issues of the male security staff frequently obstructing their privacy during hospital visits, oftentimes leading to an incomplete examination.  Among the prisoners, there are more than 30 pregnant women or women who just gave birth and 780 children under 6 years old imprisoned along with their mothers – including 149 infants under 1-year-old. Pregnant women are forced to stay with other inmates in overcrowded cells, also denied access to proper prenatal care – posing serious risks to their well-being. Likewise, mothers with children are also forced to share a cell with inmates.

Even when prison authorities are willing to let the child see a doctor, they do not allow mothers to accompany them. Children have to sleep in the same bed with their mothers and are not assigned a cradle or a separate bed.

The state pays $2 a day per prisoner for food. Since children are not technically incarcerated, they are not allotted any daily food rations and share their mother’s meals.

More than %80 of children in jail with their mothers do not receive any education.

Only %18 receive kindergarten or nursery services, but even then, there is a shortage of educational materials.

  • RESTRICTIONS ON RIGHT TO TRAVEL:

Another unlawful activity being pursued during this period is revoking the passports of government critics with perceived affiliations to the Gulen movement, Kurdish opposition, Leftists groups and their family members. On this ground, the Turkish government put restrictions on approximately 155,000 passports, reported by the SCF. Since their passports are restricted, many people, with the fear of persecution, use smuggler routes to flee from the country. Unfortunately, many died in the Evros River and the Aegean Sea. Turkey revoking its citizens’ passports also causes travel struggles for those across the world.

  • SEIZURE OF DISSIDENTS’ ASSETS:

The Turkish government abuses laws to seize assets of its critics. As of March 2018, the government had seized the assets of approximately 1,124 businesses and 127 individuals. According to the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund of Turkey, the net worth of the seized assets is an estimated $32.24 billion since the 2016 coup attempt. Moreover, in most cases, the government freezes the assets of those on trial, financially crippling them and their families.

SOURCES

  1. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/07/turkey-independent-monitors-must-be-allowed-to-access-detainees-amid-torture-allegations/ https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/europe-and-central-asia/turkey/report-turkey/
  2. https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/turkey/

          https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/TR/2018-03-19_Second_OHCHR_Turkey_Report.pdf

  1. https://turkeypurge.com/turkey-jails-2431-judges-prosecutors-dismisses-4424-to-date-top-court
  2. https://worldjusticeproject.org/sites/default/files/documents/ROLI-2019-Reduced.pdf
  3. https://silencedturkey.org/lawyers-on-trial-abusive-prosecutions-and-erosion-of-fair-trial-rights-in-turkey-2

         https://arrestedlawyers.org/2019/09/01/new-report-mass-prosecution-of-lawyers-in-turkey/

  1. https://silencedturkey.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/AcademicsAtRisk.pdf
  2. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/aug/06/turkish-government-destroys-more-than-300000-books
  3. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/11/brothers-critical-turkish-regime-arrested-after-tv-programme

         https://tr.euronews.com/2019/07/12/verilerle-15-temmuz-sonras-ve-ohal-sureci

  1. https://expressioninterrupted.com/freedom-of-expression-and-the-press-in-turkey-211/
  2. https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/turkey/
  3. http://www.tuik.gov.tr/PreHaberBultenleri.do?id=27610

          https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/turkey-coup-attempt-latest-releases-almost-34000-prisoners-in-amnesty-amid-international-alarm-over-a7221451.html

  1. https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/turkey/
  2. https://www.ihd.org.tr/sample-page-2/
  1. https://stockholmcf.org/suspicious-deaths-and-suicides-in-turkey-updated-list/
  2. https://correctiv.org/en/top-stories-en/2018/12/06/black-sites/
  3. http://www.tuik.gov.tr/PreHaberBultenleri.do?id=27610

         https://7dnews.com/news/inmates-facing-poor-living-conditions-and-death-in-turkish-prisons

  1. https://stockholmcf.org/turkeys-dismissed-academics-want-their-passports-back-after-state-of-emergency-lifted/
  2. https://twitter.com/platformpj/status/1234421262052732928/photo/1

         http://www.platformpj.org/report-the-erosion-of-property-rights-in-turkey/

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AST REPORT 2018-2019

WORDS FROM THE ADVOCATES

When the Turkish President declared in an infamous speech that “old Turkey no longer exists. This Turkey is new Turkey”, the story of Turkish authoritarianism had once and for all taken on a new character. Since July of 2016, the Turkish government has improperly imprisoned 130,214 homemakers, teachers, NGO workers, academics, judges, prosecutors, and journalists.

We are a group of lawyers, judges, academics, journalists, and hundreds of activists who cherish democratic ideals and universal human rights. We are prisoners of conscience wanted by the Erdogan’s regime, relatives of political prisoners, and victims who have lost their jobs, property, and family members to the current administration which has been described as a Mafia State. We are the Advocates of Silenced Turkey. We, the Advocates, have made it our mission to champion the rights of Silenced Turkey until universal human rights and democratic governance are established and sustained as the utmost priorities of the Republic of Turkey.

AST GIVES A VOICE TO THE VOICELESS…

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Key Human Rights Concerns in Turkey since the So-called Coup Attempt

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Following the coup attempt on the 15th of July 2016, the Turkish government under the authoritarian leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken a wave of oppressive actions against not only the alleged coup plotters but also those that are perceived as critics of the regime. Currently, as part of Turkey’s post-coup crackdown, more than 170,000 people including judges, academics, teachers, journalists, police and military officers, and other public servants were dismissed from their jobs. In correlation, more than 217,000 were detained and 80,000 were arrested. Amnesty International reports that detainees were “being held arbitrarily” with “no evidence establishing reasonable suspicion of criminal behavior” and that “only a tiny minority of them were accused of taking part in the actual events of the attempted coup”.
Amid the massive crackdown of hundreds of thousands of dissidents, human rights organizations and the U.N. Human Rights Council have noted that human rights are violated on a large scale by the Turkish government. Arbitrary killings, suspicious deaths of people in custody, forced disappearances, tortures, ill-treatments, injustice, and threats – mostly against the followers of the Gulen movement, Kurds, and the Leftists – were reported widespread during this large-scale witch-hunt.
As people continue to be arrested and many more tortured and abducted, the present brief of Advocates of Silenced Turkey (AST) highlights some of the key human rights concerns that took place in Turkey during this on-going period.

Unprecedented scale of dismissals: More than 130,000 civil servants, with their names attached in lists to emergency orders, were dismissed by emergency decrees. These civil servants included over 4,200 judges and prosecutors, 7,000 academics, 6,000 health-care professionals, 33,500 teachers, and 44,500 police and military officers. Not only were people dismissed arbitrarily but also banned permanently from working in the public sector – many were even banned to practice their profession.

Collapse of judiciary system: With approximately 4,200 judges and prosecutors (including two judges from the Turkey’s highest court) dismissed permanently, over one-fifth of Turkey’s judiciary has been removed. Of those dismissed, at least 2,200 were jailed with their assets frozen due to their alleged links to the Gulen movement. Consequently, the climate of fear paralyzed the judges and prosecutors who still have their positions. The fear combined with the heavy government influence in the court system led to the collapse of the judiciary system and the deterioration of human rights in the country. As a result, Turkey ranked 109 out of 126 countries in 2019 on the rule of law index of World Justice Project.

Victimization of lawyers: Lawyers are among the many groups affected by the post-coup crackdown in Turkey. They were unlawfully associated with their clients’ alleged crimes. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that many lawyers were targeted with criminal investigations with little or no evidence. According to the Arrested Lawyers Initiative, over 1,500 lawyers were persecuted over the past three years including 14 lawyers who were presidents of provincial bar associations – of those persecuted lawyers, one third remained imprisoned before and during their trials, and 274 were convicted of membership of armed terrorist organizations and sentenced to long prison sentences. Furthermore, approximately 34 bar associations were shut down by presidential decree with alleged affiliations to terrorist organizations.

The media purge following the attempted coup: In the aftermath of the failed coup, the government closed down 179 media outlets – including 53 newspapers, 37 radio stations, 34 TV channels, 29 publishing houses, 20 magazines, and six news agencies – with accused links to the Gulen movement, Kurdish opposition, or Leftists groups. Consequently, a total of 2,308 media workers and journalists have lost their jobs. The government cancelled hundreds of press accreditations and revoked passports of an unknown number of journalists and their family members to ban them from traveling abroad. In addition, the government imprisoned a record-breaking number of journalists in the wake of the coup attempt – with that, Turkey became the world’s largest prison for journalists. The Platform for Independent Journalism (P24) reported that at least 126 journalists and media workers were in prison in Turkey as of October 2019 – among them, many were put in long solitary confinement.
The absence of freedom of expression is not only a recurring problem for journalists but for citizens as well. In 2018, the Ministry of Interior reported that more than 7,000 individuals were detained for their social media posts after investigating 631,233 digital materials. In relation to the censorships and content restrictions in the country, Wikipedia has been blocked in Turkey since April of 2017. Currently, out of the 180 countries, Turkey ranks 157 th on the Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders and are listed among ‘not free’ countries by the Freedom House.

Persecuting academics: Following the coup attempt, 1,043 private schools and 15 universities linked to the Gülen movement were closed by a presidential decree. Eventually resulting in the displacement of over 60,000 students across the country. Over 8,500 academics reportedly lost their jobs either due to direct dismissals or university closures since September 2016 – and many of them were imprisoned. Large-scale dismissals of academics and teachers significantly damaged the education sector thus diminished the right to education.

Crackdown on health care sector: Turkish government has shut down 14 hospitals and 36 medical centers after the coup attempt on the pretext of alleged ties to the Gülen movement. Therefore, an estimated 21,000 health care professionals were laid off – including doctors, academics, nurses, mid-wives, and other hospital staff. Of those, 5,261 are medical doctors and academics who specialize in the medical sciences. The figures of how many health care professionals have been detained, arrested or currently in prison are estimated in the thousands. Given the longstanding issue of hospital and staff shortages in the country, the dismissal of health care professionals and closure of hospitals left many patients in despair of medical care.

Prison conditions: With persecution of tens of thousands of critics, Turkey’s prisons have never been fuller – the prison population has increased from 171,267 inmates in 2015 to 260,144 in 2018. Given the capacity of 211,766, inmates are forced to remain in overcrowding cells. In order to free up space for more political prisoners, the government released nearly 34,000 convicts from prisons. The inadequate provision of heath care to prisoners also remains a serious problem. Officially reported by the Ministry of Justice Prison and Correctional Facilities, there were 271 doctors serving nearly a quarter million of the prison population – of whom, only eight were full-time. Insufficient access to fresh water, proper heating, ventilation, and lighting are other concerns for prison conditions.

Torture and ill-treatment: Despite the government’s stated zero tolerance for torture policy, human rights groups reported widespread and systematic use of torture and ill-treatment in police custody following the coup-attempt-including severe beatings, threats of sexual assault and actual sexual assault, electric shocks, water boarding, sleep deprivation, stress positions, long solitary confinement, and depriving of food and water. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) stated acts of torture and ill-treatment aimed “at extracting confessions or forcing detainees to denounce other Individuals” in its report on Turkey in 2017. The Human Rights Association (HRA) reported that the number of incidents where prisoners were subjected to torture and ill-treatment in
detention centers and prisons was 2,178 in 2016, 2,415 in 2017, and 1,505 in 2018. The Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF) reported a total of 126 suspicious deaths and suicides since the coup attempt – most of those occurred in detention centers and prisons, seemingly a direct result of torture and ill-treatment.

Abduction and enforced disappearance: In the aftermath of the coup attempt, forced disappearances made a comeback in Turkey. Opposing politicians and respected human rights groups claimed at least 28 abductions or possible enforced disappearances of individuals. Most of the victims were identified as dismissed public servants with alleged ties to the Gulen movement or critics of the government. Allegedly, victims were abducted outside detention facilities and illegally questioned and tortured by Turkey’s intelligence agency. Moreover, Turkey’s intelligence agency reportedly snatched over more than 100 alleged Gulen affiliates from 18 countries – individuals often deported by cooperative governments without due process.

Women and children in prisons: The prison conditions for women and children are exceedingly alarming. According to the Justice Ministry, as of 2017, nearly 10,000 women and 3,000 children under 18 are in Turkey’s prisons. The inhumane prison conditions also hold weight in women prisons. They face additional issues of the male security staff frequently obstructing their privacy during hospital visits, often times leading to incomplete examination. Among the prisoners, there are pregnant women or women who just gave birth and 677 children under 6 years old imprisoned along with their mothers – including 149 infants under 1 year old. Pregnant women were forced to stay with other inmates in overcrowded cells, also denied access to proper prenatal care – posing serious risks to their well-beings.
Likewise, mothers with children were also forced to share a cell with inmates.

Restrictions on right to travel: Another unlawful activity being pursued during this period is revoking the passports of government critics with perceived affiliations to the Gulen movement, Kurdish opposition, Leftists groups and their family members. On this ground, the Turkish government put restrictions on approximately 155,000 passports, reported by the SCF. Since their passports are restricted, many people, with the fear of persecution, use smuggler routes to flee from the country.
Unfortunately, many died in the Evros River and the Aeagean Sea. Turkey revoking its citizens’ passports also causes travel struggles for those across the world.

Seized the critics’ assets: The Turkish government abuses laws to seize assets of its critics. As of March 2018, the government had seized the assets of approximately 1,124 businesses and 127 individuals. According to the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund of Turkey, the net worth of the seized assets is an estimated 49.4 billion liras ($9.4 billion) since the 2016 coup attempt. Moreover, in most cases, the government freezes the assets of those on trial, financially crippling them and their families.


 


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