Disciplinary action against academics for peace a violation of right

The Constitutional Court (AYM) in Turkey decided a second time that the disciplinary action against the ‘academics for peace’ was a violation of rights, Gazete Duvar reported.

AYM ruled that the disciplinary action violated the freedom of expression of the academics, who were given disciplinary punishments because they signed the petition entitled "We will not be a party to this crime." 

AYM also decided that 10 thousand liras should be paid to two of the three applicants and 13 thousand 500 liras to the other.

The petition refers to an open letter by the academics published in reaction to months of fighting between the security forces and the outlawed PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party), after a two and a half year ceasefire broke down in 2015. 

1,128 initial signatories of the letter, including prominent Turkish scholars and overseas academics such as American linguist Noam Chomsky, called for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question through negotiations.

When clashes resumed, the Turkish government had put large parts of the southeast region under curfew and bombarded some largely Kurdish areas with heavy weapons, saying this was necessary to expel Kurdish militants who had dug trenches and laid explosives. 

According to a UN estimate, the security operations left 2,000 people dead and up to half a million displaced.