ACADEMICS, COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS DEMAND THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN LAWYER DR HANIFI BARIŞ FROM PRISON IN TURKEY

On 4th July 2018, Dr Hanifi Bariş, a University of Aberdeen PhD graduate, was arrested in Istanbul. He is charged with "posting items of criminal content” on his Facebook and Twitter accounts. Hanifi is a gifted, well-respected and dearly loved scholar and friend. We decry this abuse of state power and demand justice for our esteemed colleague.

The recent actions of the government are demonstrative of an escalation in the repression and erosion of basic human rights in Turkey. Sadly, Hanifi's arrest is not an isolated event. He is one of hundreds of academics currently imprisoned and facing criminal and disciplinary investigations. Many others have already been dismissed or suspended and some have fled the country.

Link to news story here.

STV news coverage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uESnsM4aue8&feature=youtu.be

We, the undersigned, support Hanifi and demand his immediate release from prison.

1. Étienne Balibar, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, Université Paris Nanterre

2. Professor of International Politics Engin Isin, Queen Mary University of London

3. Judith Butler, Maxine Elliot Professor of Comparative Literature, University of California, Berkeley

4. Gurminder Bhambra, Professor of Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies, Department of International Relations, University of Sussex

5. Professor Sandro Mezzadra, political theorist, Università di Bologna

6. Professor Ilan Pappé, historian and social activist

7. Stuart Elden, Professor of Political Theory and Geography, University of Warwick

8. Aleksandra Ålund, Emeritus Professor, Linköping University

9. Professor Patricia Burke Wood, Department of Geography, York University

10. Professor Diana Paton, William Robertson Professor of History, Edinburgh University

11. Dr Trevor Stack, Director, Centre for Citizenship, Civil Society and Rule of Law, University of Aberdeen

12. Prof. Dr. Karin Friedrich, Chair of Early Modern European History, University of Aberdeen

13. Dr Andrea Teti, Senior Lecturer, Department of Politics & International Relations, University of Aberdeen

14. Dr. Thomas Schmidinger, University Lecturer for Political Science, University of Vienna

15. Katharina Brizic, Professor of Multilingualism Studies, University of Freiburg

16. Dr. Vera Eccarius-Kelly, Professor of Comparative Politics, Siena College, Albany, NY

17. Professor Annelies Moors, Department of Cultural Anthropology, University of Amsterdam

18. Prof. Dr. Philip G. Kreyenbroek, Professor Emeritus, Georg-August University Göttingen

19. Dr. Wendelmoet Hamelink, Centre for Gender Research, University of Oslo

20. Professor René Smits University of Amsterdam

21. Prof. Dr. Marlies Casier, Visiting Professor, Ghent University

22. Dr Nazand Begikhani, Senior International Adviser Higher Education & Gender, Senior Research Fellow, University of Bristol

21. Martin van Bruinessen, Professor Emeritus, Utrecht University

22. Dr. Cristina Flesher Fominaya, Excellence 100 Reader in Social Politics and Media, Loughborough University

23. Dr Ilia Xypolia, Department of Politics & International Relations, University of Aberdeen

24. Ogubie Lawson, President, Aberdeen University Students' Association, University of Aberdeen

25. Professor Doctor Ulisses Terto Neto, IESB and the Federal University of Goias (UFG), Brazil

26. Dr. Erik Bähre, Associate Professor, Leiden University

27. Prof. Dr. Peter Pels, Institute CA-DS, Universiteit Leiden

28. Jorunn Økland, Professor, University of Oslo; Director, Norwegian Institute at Athens.

29. Dr. Martin Greve, senior researcher, musicologist, Berlin

30. Dr. Latif Tas, SOAS, University of London​

31. Dr. Gopal Krishna Siwakoti, Ex-President Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network. Human Rights Activist​

32. Professor Robert I. Frost, Burnett Fletcher Chair of History, University of Aberdeen. Fellow of the British Academy

Akademisyenler, Meslektaşları ve Arkadaşları Aberdeen Üniversitesinden Barış imzacısı, Avukat Hanifi Barış’ın Derhal Serbest Bırakılmasını Talep Ediyor

Doktorasını Aberdeen Üniversitesinde yapmış olan Dr Hanifi Barış, 4 Temmuz 2018 günü İstanbul’da tutuklandı. Yetkililerin belirtildiğine göre, hakkındaki suçlama, Facbook’da "suç içeren paylaşımlar" yapmasıydı. Hanifi, başarılı, saygı duyulan, ve çok sevilen bir akademisyen ve arkadaş olarak bilinmektedir. Bizler devlet otoritesinin bu şekilde kötüye kullanılmasını eleştiriyor, saygıdeğer meslektaşımız için adalet talep ediyoruz.

Türk devletinin son zamanlardaki uygulamaları ülkedeki temel insan haklarındaki erozyonu ve baskının boyutlarını tereddütte gerek duymadan açığa çıkarmıştır. Üzülerek belirtmek isteriz ki, Hanifi hâlihazırda cezaevinde bulunan, hakkında ceza ve disiplin soruşturmaları açılan yüzlerce akademisyenden sadece biridir. Şu güne kadar, birçok akademisyen işlerinden atılmış veya uzaklaştırılmış, veya bu baskı ve ceza tehditleri altında ülkeden ayrılmak zorunda bırakılmıştır.

Bu metni Hanifi’yi desteklemek ve onun derhal serbest bırakılmasını talep etmek amacıyla imzalıyoruz.

#HanifiyeÖzgürlük