Turkish court paves way for four peace academics to be reinstated

A Turkish administrative court has paved the way for four peace academics to be reinstated to their posts, six years after they were dismissed from Ankara University by government decrees.

Monday March 13 2023 04:33 pm

Peace academics hold a banner reading 'We will take back our usurped rights' in this file photo.

Duvar English

The Ankara 21st Administrative Court has ruled that the State of Emergency (OHAL) Commission violated the rights of four members of the "Academics of Peace" by rejecting their cases.

The ruling has paved the way for the academics Funda Şenol Cantek, Tezcan Durna, Nail Dertli ve Can Irmak Özinanır to return back to their posts at Ankara University six years later after their dismissal.

The decision will be finalized once Ankara University management does not appeal the court’s ruling or in case of an appeal, it is rejected.

Cantek, Durna, Dertli and Özinanır are among hundreds of academics who signed a petition called “We will not be a party to this crime” in early 2016 to urge the government to cease its military operations in the country’s Kurdish majority southeast, where days-long curfews and military conflict were devastating locals.

Often called the "Academics for Peace," the petition's signatories were later tried on terrorism charges and were fired from their posts by government decrees (KHKs) adopted within the framework of the state of emergency declared in the aftermath of the failed July 15, 2016 coup attempt.

The State of Emergency (OHAL) Commission was formed in May 2017 to look into applications regarding the dismissals via emergency decrees.

OHAL Commission had refused to reinstate Cantek, Durna, Dertli and Özinanır reinstate to their posts, after which their cases were taken to the Ankara 21st Administrative Court.