On Monday a Turkish court ordered the detention of Erol Onderoglu from Reporters Without Borders; journalist Ahmet Nesin; and Professor Sebnem Korur Fincanci, head of the Turkish Human Rights Foundation. All three had participated in a campaign protesting the legal harassment of Özgür Gündem.
Fincancı was summoned for questioning regarding a solidarity action with the Özgür Gündem newspaper, whose editor in chief was recently incarcerated. The solidarity action consisted of doing a symbolic "editor in chief on duty" stint. She is now in the Bakırköy Women's Prison.
Endangered Scholars Worldwide is deeply concerned about the arbitrary detention of Erol Onderoglu, Ahmet Nesin, and Sebnem Korur Fincanci in response to their exercise of the rights to academic freedom, free expression, and free association, conduct that is expressly protected under international human rights instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both to which Turkey is party. The ongoing tensions in Turkey have a profoundly unsettling effect on academic freedom and represent a grave threat to higher education on a national scale.
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