The court of appeal has upheld the 15-month prison sentence previously given to Prof. Dr. Zübeyde Füsun Üstel, an academic signatory to the declaration entitled “We will not be a party to this crime” prepared by Academics for Peace.
In response to the absurd allegations levelled against Osman Kavala and Yiğit Aksakoğlu, who are both imprisoned pending trial, as well as 14 other civil society figures, all of whom are accused of “attempting to overthrow the government”, we, the undersigned human rights organizations, call for the escalating crackdown on and criminalization of civil society to end.