Amendment No. 14 | Doc. 14078 | 22 June 2016
The functioning of democratic institutions in Turkey
In the draft resolution, after paragraph 22, insert the following paragraph:
"The prosecution of academics who signed a peace declaration calling for an end to the military campaign in south-east Turkey and accusing the government of breaching international law ("We shall not be part of this crime!") is another example that raises serious questions about the scope of the anti-terror law. Of the initial 1 128 signatories of the declaration, 495 academics are under investigation. On 14 January 2016, the police reportedly briefly detained 27 of them. The Council of Europe Secretary General issued, on 15 January 2016, a statement expressing his concern about these arrests. Four petitioners (Esra Munga, Muzaffer Kaya, Kıvanç Ersoy and Meral Camcı) were arrested and detained on 16 March 2016 on charges of "terrorist propaganda" (Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law). The prosecutor in the first hearing decided to drop the charges of terrorism, and considered launching an investigation under Article 301 of the Penal Code (insulting the State) – subject to the authorisation of the Minister of Justice. In the meantime, the four academics were released on 22 April 2016. Disciplinary and criminal proceedings had been launched against other petitioners for a statement calling for an end to violence, which, for the Commissioner for Human Rights, fell within the boundaries of free speech, whether one agreed with their message or not."