Нурие Гюлмен: 6 годишна борба срещу злоупотребите на системата

Nuriye Gulmen

Преди 6 години, Турция бе разтърсена от предполагаемия опит за държавен преврат на 15 Юли 2016. Ден след опита, турското правителство моментално въведе извънредно положение и прие извънредни изпълнителни укази, които основно цензорираха медии и журналисти. След това обхвата се разшири до хиляди държавни служители, полицаи, служители на въоражените сили, университетски преподаватели и служители поименно в приложенията към Указ 679 от 6 Януари 2017 г. Тези действия оставиха повече от 150,000 без работа, без социални услуги и без достъп на свобода на движение. Животът им беше опетнен от обвиненията на правителството за участие в преврата, за който се твърди, че е организиран от Фетуллах Гюлен. Гюлен е турски учен и духовник, който живее в изгнание в САЩ от 1999г и отрича всякаква връзка с опита за преврат. 

Едно от лицата засегнати от тези събития е Нурие Гюлмен, бивш турски професор по сравнителна литература в университета в Селчук през 2012 г. През 2015 я назначават за научен сътрудник  в университета Ескишехир Османгази. Гюлмен е не само академик, но също така е водила и правни битки срещу злоупотребата с институциите в Турция. Поради политически съдебен процес, след назначаването и тя е задържана за 109 дни, което забавя постъпването и в Ескишехир. Денят, в който е назначена отново съвпада с деня на преврата, което води до отстраняването на Гюлмен още на следващия ден. Това се дължи на новите укази според, които тя и още хиляди са били част от ФЕТО, така определената от Ердоган терористична организация на изгнаника Фетхула Гюлен. Това предизвиква следващата част от нейната активистка история и от 9 Ноември 2016 г. всеки ден тя протестира с искането да получи работата си обратно. Гюлмен протестира пред паметника на човешките права, намиращ се в Анкара, където се намира и съветът за висше образование, който трябва да отговори на нейните искания. Гюлмен обяснява, че това е „революционна традиция“, с която трябва да привлечеш внимание и да получиш каквото искаш. В този случай, прекратяване на извънредното положение и разрешение на всички уволнение работници да се върнат на работа, както и сигурност на местата на всички работници в сферата на образованието и науката. Гюлмен започва протестите си общо взето сама, като е арестувана общо 26 пъти, което вероятно се дължи и на нарастващото внимание от страна на местни и чуждестранни зрители, които следят действията и блоговете й. В крайна сметка тя е оценена от CNN, които я обявяват за една от осемте най-смели жени на 2016 г. 

 

CNN, които я обявяват за една от осемте най-смели жени на 2016 г. 

На 9 Март 2017 г. Гюлмен прави действията си още по-сериозни, като обявява гладна стачка. Заедно с началната учителка Семих Йозакча, двете изпитаха несгодите от нововъведените кризисни укази. Разбирането зад гладната стачка е, че стачка само с думи не привлича достатъчно внимание от старна на властите, но гладната стачка е следващото ниво. Както Гюлмен сама казва „Необходимо е съпротивата да бъде на следващото стъпало и наистина да ги притиснем, за да предприемат някакви действия“. В отговор на гладната стачка е внесен обвинителен акт в 19-ти наказателен съд, обвинявайки Гюлмен и Йозакча, че са членове и участват в незаконната Революционно-народоосвободителна партия. Това довежда до задържането им в затвора Синджан в Анкара до 23 Май 2017 г. Съдът намира и двете за виновни, защото „ ако не са задържани под надзор, те биха навредили на хода на правосъдието“. Цитат, който си противоречи, предвид липсата на каквито и да е доказателства по обвиненията. Дори адвокатът на обвиняемите публикува криминалните им досиета като доказателство, че не участват в никаква партия, противопоставяйки се на Министъра на вътрешните работи Сюлейман Сойлу, който се опитва да докаже правотата на повдигнатите обвинения. 

Има опасения, че още човешки права ще бъдат нарушени, тъй като надзирателите в затвора и докторите имат право да се намесят и да прекратят гладна стачка без съгласието на учителите. По време на посещение от Хакан Кандуран, който е президент на адвокатската колегия в Анкара, той заявява следното: „ справедливостта изчезва точно като нея (Гюлмен). Тя не може да държи главата си изправена без помощ, да вдига ръцете си, нито да държи химикал“. На свой ред видяхме как Кандуран призовава правителството да прекрати гладната стачка чрез обществено примирие и да преговаря с онези, които са засегнати от извънредните укази. В средата на 2017, Гюлмен и Йозакча подават иск в Касационния, както и в Европейския съд по правата на човека за прекратяване на задържането им с мотива, че гладната им стачка е представлява очевидна заплаха за здравето им. И двете институции отхвърлят исковете, тъй като заплахата не е била животозастрашаваща и са били взети необходимите медицинскки мерки, ако състоянието им се влоши. 

В крайна сметка здравето на Гюлмен се влошава и на 26 Септември 2017 г. се налага преместването й в затворничереска килия в Нумуне. До 1-ви Декември тя е свободна, докато 19-ти районен съд не я осъжда на 6 години и 3 месеца затвор, под условие, че освобождаването й е под съдебен контрол.  Въпреки освобождаването им, Гюлмен и Йозакча продължават протестите си пред паметника на човешките права. В крайна сметка на 26 Януари, 2018 г. те приключват гладната си стачка, поради отказа на съдебната система да разгледат случая. Това не сломява двете бунтовнички и те продължават със стачата си. 324 дни по-късно, Гюлмен е загубила повече от 20 килограма, показвайки колко усилия влага в това да запази работата и да извоюва правата си.  

Следващият път, в който Гюлмен бе под светлината на прожекторите беше през 2020 година, когато отново бе арестувана по време на полицейска акция в Истанбулския културен център Идил на 5-ти Август. Центърът е управляван от лявата фолк група „Юрум“, а причините за нападението все още са неизяснени. По-късно същата година, Гюлмен и други нейни колеги са изключени от синдиката на работниците в образованието и науката, тъй като чрез имиджа си на „ бойци на съпротивата“ оронват престижа на синдиката. Последното развитие по-случая е неотдавна, на 4 Ноември 2021 г. двойката подава молба до конституционния съд. Гюлмен и Йозакча твърдят, че обвинителен акт от 2 Май, 2017 г. съдържа същите обвинения срещу тях като тези в обвинителен акт от Март същата година. Обвиненията водят до техния арест, но в последствие са освободени под съдебен контрол, което доказва, че те са задържани неправомерно. Това също доказва, че съдебните органи, които се занимават със случая не са нито безпристрастни, нито независими.  Съдът отхвърля исканията им, като причини за това посочва, че липсват конкретни доказателстваи не са използвали всички местни институции преди това. 

Това, което явно се забелязва от смелият активизъм на Гюлмен е, че от 2016 г. насам, правителството несправедливо е сложило мишени на гърбовете на стотици хиляди хора, въз основа на фалшиви аргументи. Тези, които се противопоставят на правителството ще бъдат подложени на репресия чрез арести и законово сплашване. „Броукън Чолк“ призовава турското правителство и съответните власти сериозно да преразгледат, своите действия, които оставиха стотици хиляди без работа или възможност да напуснат страната, за да потърсят ново начало. „Броукън Чолк“ призовава връщането на Нурие Гюлмен и Семих Йозакча, и много други потърпевши, на съответните им работни позиции в образователната система. Отстраняването на тези хора със сигурност е намалило качеството на образованието в Турция.

 

Original text: Karl Baldacchino

Translated by: Ivan Evstatiev  from [Nuriye Gülmen: A Six-Year Struggle Against Systematic Abuses]

 

Sources:

[i] Grabenwarter, C. et al. (2017) ‘Draft Opinion on the Measures Provided in the Recent Emergency Decree Laws with Respect to Freedom of the Media’. European Commission for Democracy Through Law (Venice Commission). Available online from: https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL(2017)006-e [Accessed on 08/03/2022], pp. 3-4.

[ii] Decree-Law No. 679 (6th January 2017) ‘Measures Regarding Public Personnel’. Available online from: https://insanhaklarimerkezi.bilgi.edu.tr/media/uploads/2017/02/09/KHK_679_ENG.pdf [Accessed 08/03/2022], p. 1.

[iii] Jones, T. (2018) ‘Two Turkish Teachers End Almost 11-Month Hunger Strike’.  DW. Available online from: https://www.dw.com/en/two-turkish-teachers-end-almost-11-month-hunger-strike/a-42318478 [Accessed 08/03/2022]; Işık, A. (2017) ‘In Turkey, Hope for ‘Justice is Fading Away Just like my Muscles’’. DW. Available online from: https://www.dw.com/en/in-turkey-hope-for-justice-is-fading-away-just-like-my-muscles/a-39482207 [Accessed 08/03/2022].

[iv] Halavut, H. (2017) ‘Interview with Nuriye Gülmen: ‘I Have More Hope Today Than I Did on the First Day’’.  5 Harliler. Available online from: https://www.5harfliler.com/interview-with-nuriye-gulmen/ [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[v] Ibid.

[vi] Ibid.

[vii] Ibid.; see also Gülmen, N. (2016) ‘DİRENİŞİN TALEPLERi’. Available online from: https://nuriyegulmendireniyor.wordpress.com/2016/11/08/basin-aciklamasina-cagri/ [Accessed on 08/03/2022]; see also Wikipedia (2022) ‘Nuriye Gülmen’. Available online from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuriye_G%C3%BClmen#cite_note-18 [Accessed 08/03/2022].

[viii] Ibid.

[ix] Ibid.; see also Amnesty International (2017) ‘Urgent Action: Fear for Hunger Strikers’ Wellbeing’. Available online from: https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/EUR4463402017ENGLISH.pdf [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[x] Ibid.

[xi] ‘Urgent Action: Fear for Strikers’ Wellbeing’.

[xii] Cumhuriyet (2017) ‘Criminal Record of Gülmen and Özakça, Declared ‘Terrorists’ by Minister Soylu’. Available online from: https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/bakan-soylunun-terorist-ilan-ettigi-gulmen-ve-ozakcanin-adli-sicil-kaydi-748105 [Accessed on 08/03/2022]; see also NTV (2017) ‘Statements by Minister Soylu about Semih Özakça and Nuriye Gülmen’. Available online from: https://www.ntv.com.tr/turkiye/bakan-soyludan-aclik-grevi-yapan-nuriye-gulmenle-ilgili-aciklamalar,Jg2i0I634EyPWqK_cXdIbg [Accessed on 08/03/2022]; see also Milliyet (2017) ‘The Unending Scenario of a Terrorist Organisation: “The Truth of Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça”’. Available online from: https://web.archive.org/web/20170813220846/http://www.milliyet.com.tr/bir-teror-orgutunun-bitmeyen-senaryosu-ankara-yerelhaber-2179760/ [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[xiii] ‘Urgent Action: Fear for Strikers’ Wellbeing’; see also ‘In Turkey, Hope for ‘Justice is Fading Away Just like My Muscles’.

[xiv] ‘In Turkey, Hope for ‘Justice is Fading Away Just like My Muscles’.

[xv] Armutcu, O. (2017) ‘The Constitutional Court Rejected the Appeal Against the Detention of Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça’ Hurriyet. Available online from: https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/anayasa-mahkemesi-nuriye-gulmen-ve-semih-ozakcanin-tutukluluguna-yapilan-itirazi-reddetti-40503721 [Accessed on 08/03/2022]; see also Cakir, A. (2017) ‘ECHR Rejects Semih Özakça and Nuriye Gülmen’s Application’. Voice of America. Available online from: https://www.amerikaninsesi.com/a/aihm-semih-ozakca-ve-nuriye-gulmen-in-basvurusunu-reddetti/3969669.html [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[xvi] Bianet (2017) ‘Nuriye Gülmen Released’. Available online from: https://bianet.org/english/human-rights/192100-nuriye-gulmen-released [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[xvii] ‘Two Turkish Teachers End Almost 11-Month Hunger Strike’.

[xviii] Ibid.

[xix] Duvar English (2020) ‘Dismissed Turkish Academic, Known for Hunger Strike, Arrested Again’. Available online from: https://www.duvarenglish.com/human-rights/2020/08/11/dismissed-turkish-academic-known-for-hunger-strike-arrested-again [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[xx] Yeni Bir Mecra (2020) ‘Critical Decisions in Eğitim-Sen: Nuriye Gülmen was Expelled’. Available online from: https://yeni1mecra.com/egitim-sende-kritik-kararlar-nuriye-gulmen-ihrac-edildi/ [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[xi] Duvar English (2021) ‘Turkey’s Top Court Rules Dismissed Educators’ Rights Not Violated’. Available online from: https://www.duvarenglish.com/turkeys-top-court-rules-rights-of-dismissed-educators-nuriye-gulmen-and-semih-ozakca-not-violated-news-59436 [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[xii] Ibid.

Nuriye Gülmen: een zesjarige strijd tegen systematisch misbruik

Nuriye Gulmen

Bijna zes jaar geleden werd Turkije opgeschrikt door de vermeende poging tot staatsgreep op 15 juli 2016. Een dag na de poging stelde de Turkse regering snel de noodtoestand in en nam ze nooduitvoeringsdecreten nrs. 667-676 aan die voornamelijk gecensureerde media en journalisten, ,[i] maar breidde het bereik vervolgens uit tot duizenden ambtenaren, politieagenten, strijdkrachten, universiteitsprofessoren en personeel met naam in de bijlagen van decreet 679 op 6 januari 2017. [ii] Dit resulteerde in een totaal van meer dan 150.000 mensen die hun baan verliezen, toegang tot sociale diensten, hun bewegingsvrijheid wordt beperkt, hun leven bezoedeld door de beschuldiging van de regering dat ze betrokken waren bij de staatsgreep die zou zijn veroorzaakt door Fetullah Gülen, een Turkse geleerde-geestelijke die in zelfballingschap heeft geleefd in de VS sinds 1999 en die de aanklacht uit Ankara hardnekkig heeft ontkend.[iii]

Een van die personen die getroffen is in de nasleep van deze gebeurtenissen is Nuriye Gülmen, een voormalige Turkse professor in vergelijkende literatuurwetenschap aan de Selçuk Universiteit in 2012 en die, voorafgaand aan de poging tot staatsgreep, werd aangesteld als onderzoeksassistent aan de Eskişehir Osmangazi Universiteit in 2015.[iv] Gülmen is niet alleen een academicus, maar heeft ook een geschiedenis van activisme en juridische strijd tegen het misbruik van instellingen in Turkije als gevolg van een politieke rechtszaak na haar benoeming en zag haar 109 dagen vastzitten, waardoor haar studies vertraging opliepen en ze opnieuw werd opgenomen in Eskişehir.[v] De dag dat ze weer in haar onderzoekspositie werd benoemd, was de dag van de poging tot staatsgreep, wat leidde tot haar schorsing uit Eskişehir de volgende dag. Dit was te wijten aan de nieuwe decreten waarin haar werd beschuldigd, zoals duizenden met haar, van lidmaatschap van FETO, de zogenaamde organisatie van aanhangers van de verbannen Gülen die Erdogan en zijn regering ervan beschuldigden een terroristische organisatie te zijn. Dit leidde tot de volgende fase van haar activistische geschiedenis en sinds 9 november 2016, waarin ze had geprotesteerd tegen haar schorsing, eventueel ontslag, en hardnekkig elke dag vroeg om haar baan bij Eskişehir voor het Mensenrechtenmonument in Yüksel Street, Ankara, waar de Raad voor Hoger Onderwijs is gevestigd en die aan haar eisen moet voldoen. [vi] Gülmen legt uit dat dit een ‘revolutionaire traditie’ is die vastbesloten is aandacht te trekken en te krijgen wat je wilt, waarbij in dit geval wordt geëist een einde te maken aan de noodtoestand, zodat de revolutionaire democratische ambtenaren die werden ontslagen en ontslagen weer aan het werk konden gaan. zekerheid voor de 13.000 OYP-onderzoeksassistenten en het vragen van werkzekerheid voor alle onderwijs- en wetenschapswerkers. [vi] Gülmen begon haar protest grotendeels alleen, ze werd in totaal 26 keer gearresteerd, wat kan worden toegeschreven aan de toenemende aandacht van buitenlandse en binnenlandse toeschouwers die haar acties observeren, haar ervaring lezen op haar online WordPress-blog en uiteindelijk door CNN worden genoemd als een van de acht uitmuntende vrouwen van 2016 op haar 50e dag van protest. [viii]

Deze aandacht werd aanzienlijk vergroot na het decreet van 6 januari 2017 toen Gülmen werd ontslagen uit Eskişehir, wat ertoe leidde dat ze haar strategie naar een volgende versnelling verlegde door op 9 maart 2017 in hongerstaking te gaan. onderwijzer Semih Özakça, de vrouwen hebben de weerslag van de nooddecreten meegemaakt. [ix]  De grondgedachte achter de staking was dat verbale protesten de norm zijn in de activistische toolkit, die vaker wel dan niet genoeg aandacht van de autoriteiten krijgt, maar een hongerstaking is een krachtige actie die actoren die zich ermee bezighouden, plaatst met de ernstige gezondheidsproblemen. risico’s die op het spel staan, vergelijkbaar met wat Gülmen uitlegt als ‘noodzakelijk om het verzet naar een hoger niveau te tillen’ en ‘ze echt onder druk te zetten om actie te ondernemen’.[x]  Als reactie op de hongerstaking werd op 2 mei 2017 een aanklacht ingediend bij het 19e zware strafhof in Ankara, waarbij zowel Gülmen als Özakça werden beschuldigd van lidmaatschap van en betrokkenheid bij de illegale activiteiten van het Revolutionaire Volksbevrijdingspartijfront (DHKP-C), wat op zijn beurt leidde tot hun detentie op 23 mei 2017 in de Sincan-gevangenis in Ankara. [xi] De rechtbank vond het paar schuldig omdat ‘als ze niet werden teruggezonden, ze de rechtsgang zouden schaden’, een regel die lijkt tegenstrijdig gezien het gebrek aan bewijs in de ingediende aanklachten en wanneer beide docenten waakzaam blijven in het ontkennen van enige betrokkenheid bij DHKP-C tot het punt dat hun advocaat zelfs hun strafblad openbaar maakte als bewijs dat een dergelijke betrokkenheid niet bestaat en de inspanningen van de minister van Justitie tegengingen Binnenlandse Zaken Suleyman Soylu en het onderzoeks- en studiecentrum van zijn ministerie om te proberen de beschuldigingen te staven. [xii]

 

Er werd gevreesd dat beide leraren zouden worden geconfronteerd met verdere mensenrechtenschendingen, aangezien gevangenisbewakers en artsen wettelijk mogen ingrijpen en een hongerstaking beëindigen zonder de toestemming van de leraren. Ze kunnen ook ingrijpen wanneer ze bewusteloos zijn, zoals vermeld in artikel 82 van de wet op de tenuitvoerlegging van vonnis nr. 5275, wat als gevolg daarvan de vrijheid van meningsuiting zou schenden en waarschijnlijk zal leiden tot bij wrede, onmenselijke of onterende behandeling of bestraffing.[xiii] Tijdens een bezoek van de voorzitter van de Orde van Advocaten van Ankara, Hakan Canduran, en enkele van zijn collega’s, uitte Gülmen de benarde situatie waarin zij en Özakça zich bevinden, en vertelde Canduran dat ze ziet ‘het recht vervaagt net als [haar] spieren’ terwijl ze niet in staat is haar nek zonder hulp omhoog te houden, haar armen te bewegen of een pen vast te houden. Op zijn beurt zagen we Canduran de regering oproepen om een ​​einde te maken aan de hongerstaking door middel van maatschappelijke verzoening en te onderhandelen met degenen die onterecht zijn getroffen door de nooddecreten.[xiv] Medio 2017 diende het duo bij het Grondwettelijk Hof en ook bij het Europees Hof voor de Rechten van de Mens een verzoek in om een ​​einde te maken aan hun detentie omdat hun hongerstaking tegen die tijd duidelijke gezondheidsrisico’s met zich meebracht, maar beide rechtbanken wezen hun verzoek af omdat deze risico’s niet levensbedreigend waren en de juiste medische maatregelen waren getroffen om hen bij te staan ​​als dat het geval zou zijn. [xv]

De gezondheid van Gülmen werd uiteindelijk ernstig en tegen 26 september 2017 had ze haar overplaatsing naar een gevangenencel in het Numune-ziekenhuis gerechtvaardigd. Ze werd vervolgens op 1 december uit haar detentie vrijgelaten, toen het 19e zware strafhof haar veroordeelde tot 6 jaar en 3 maanden gevangenisstraf, maar haar vrijlating onder gerechtelijk toezicht mogelijk maakte. [xvi] Ondanks hun vrijlating bleven Gülmen en Özakça protesteren voor het Mensenrechtenmonument, maar moesten uiteindelijk hun hongerstaking beëindigen op 26 januari 2018, na de afwijzing van een regeringscommissie die was aangetikt om hun zaken te beoordelen, en in plaats daarvan probeerden hun inspanningen in de toekomst te concentreren op het binnenlandse rechtssysteem, waarbij ze benadrukten dat hun verzet niet was geëindigd en zou voortduren.[xvii]  Na 324 dagen in hongerstaking te zijn gegaan, had Gülmen een aanzienlijk deel van haar oorspronkelijke gewicht verloren, van 59 kilogram naar 33,8 kilogram, wat aantoont hoe serieus haar inspanningen waren om haar baan te behouden en haar rechten te respecteren.[xviii]

De volgende keer dat Gülmen in de schijnwerpers stond, was toen ze op 11 augustus 2020 opnieuw werd gearresteerd tijdens een politie-inval in het Idil Culture Centre in Istanbul op 5 augustus, een centrum dat wordt gerund door de linkse folkband Grup Yurum, waarvan de redenen onverklaard blijven.[xix] Later dat jaar werden Gülmen en andere collega’s van haar uit de Education and Science Workers’ Union (Eğitim-Sen) gezet vanwege hun imago als ‘Yüksel Resistanceists’ of verzetsstrijders in de publieke belangstelling. [xx] De laatste ontwikkeling was zo recent als 4 november 2021, toen het paar een klacht indiende bij het Grondwettelijk Hof, dat later hun beweringen verwierp dat de aanklacht van 2 mei 2017 hetzelfde bewijs gebruikte als een eerder onderzoek op 14 maart 2017, wat leidde tot tot hun arrestatie, maar werd vervolgens ontslagen en werden vrijgelaten onder gerechtelijk toezicht, wat aangeeft dat de aanklacht en detentie op 2 mei 2017 hun recht op vrijheid en veiligheid schonden, verder stellend dat de gerechtelijke autoriteiten die over de zaak beslisten, onpartijdig of onafhankelijk waren .[xxi] Het Hof verwierp hun zaak omdat de beweringen van Gülmen en Özakça geen concreet bewijs bevatten, dat hun geschonden rechten onaanvaardbaar waren om naar voren te brengen en dat ze niet alle binnenlandse middelen hadden uitgeput voordat ze hun vorderingen indienden.[xxii]

Wat duidelijk blijkt uit het gedurfde activisme van Nuriye Gülmen, is dat de regering van Turkije sinds 2016 honderdduizenden individuen onterecht heeft aangevallen op basis van argumenten die geen steek houden, en degenen die het meest getroffen zijn en besluiten zich te verzetten tegen de regeringsbesluiten. acties zullen te maken krijgen met aanzienlijke repressie door middel van detentie en juridische intimidatie. Broken Chalk roept de Turkse regering en de juiste autoriteiten op om haar acties ernstig te heroverwegen, waardoor duizenden mensen geen werkzekerheid meer hebben of de mogelijkheid hebben om het land te verlaten en werk te zoeken in het buitenland. Broken Chalk roept in het bijzonder op tot het herstel van onder meer Nuriye Gülmen en Semih Özakça, in hun respectievelijke banen op het gebied van onderwijs, en hun verwijdering heeft de toegang en kwaliteit van het onderwijs in Turkije zeker verminderd.

 

Door Karl Baldacchino

Edited by Erika Grimes

Vertaald door Karl Baldacchino uit  Nuriye Gülmen: A Six-Year Struggle Against Systematic Abuses

Sources:

[i] Grabenwarter, C. et al. (2017) ‘Draft Opinion on the Measures Provided in the Recent Emergency Decree Laws with Respect to Freedom of the Media’. European Commission for Democracy Through Law (Venice Commission). Available online from: https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL(2017)006-e [Accessed on 08/03/2022], pp. 3-4.

[ii] Decree-Law No. 679 (6th January 2017) ‘Measures Regarding Public Personnel’. Available online from: https://insanhaklarimerkezi.bilgi.edu.tr/media/uploads/2017/02/09/KHK_679_ENG.pdf [Accessed 08/03/2022], p. 1.

[iii] Jones, T. (2018) ‘Two Turkish Teachers End Almost 11-Month Hunger Strike’.  DW. Available online from: https://www.dw.com/en/two-turkish-teachers-end-almost-11-month-hunger-strike/a-42318478 [Accessed 08/03/2022]; Işık, A. (2017) ‘In Turkey, Hope for ‘Justice is Fading Away Just like my Muscles’’. DW. Available online from: https://www.dw.com/en/in-turkey-hope-for-justice-is-fading-away-just-like-my-muscles/a-39482207 [Accessed 08/03/2022].

[iv] Halavut, H. (2017) ‘Interview with Nuriye Gülmen: ‘I Have More Hope Today Than I Did on the First Day’’.  5 Harliler. Available online from: https://www.5harfliler.com/interview-with-nuriye-gulmen/ [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[v] Ibid.

[vi] Ibid.

[vii] Ibid.; see also Gülmen, N. (2016) ‘DİRENİŞİN TALEPLERi’. Available online from: https://nuriyegulmendireniyor.wordpress.com/2016/11/08/basin-aciklamasina-cagri/ [Accessed on 08/03/2022]; see also Wikipedia (2022) ‘Nuriye Gülmen’. Available online from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuriye_G%C3%BClmen#cite_note-18 [Accessed 08/03/2022].

[viii] Ibid.

[ix] Ibid.; see also Amnesty International (2017) ‘Urgent Action: Fear for Hunger Strikers’ Wellbeing’. Available online from: https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/EUR4463402017ENGLISH.pdf [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[x] Ibid.

[xi] ‘Urgent Action: Fear for Strikers’ Wellbeing’.

[xii] Cumhuriyet (2017) ‘Criminal Record of Gülmen and Özakça, Declared ‘Terrorists’ by Minister Soylu’. Available online from: https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/bakan-soylunun-terorist-ilan-ettigi-gulmen-ve-ozakcanin-adli-sicil-kaydi-748105 [Accessed on 08/03/2022]; see also NTV (2017) ‘Statements by Minister Soylu about Semih Özakça and Nuriye Gülmen’. Available online from: https://www.ntv.com.tr/turkiye/bakan-soyludan-aclik-grevi-yapan-nuriye-gulmenle-ilgili-aciklamalar,Jg2i0I634EyPWqK_cXdIbg [Accessed on 08/03/2022]; see also Milliyet (2017) ‘The Unending Scenario of a Terrorist Organisation: “The Truth of Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça”’. Available online from: https://web.archive.org/web/20170813220846/http://www.milliyet.com.tr/bir-teror-orgutunun-bitmeyen-senaryosu-ankara-yerelhaber-2179760/ [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[xiii] ‘Urgent Action: Fear for Strikers’ Wellbeing’; see also ‘In Turkey, Hope for ‘Justice is Fading Away Just like My Muscles’.

[xiv] ‘In Turkey, Hope for ‘Justice is Fading Away Just like My Muscles’.

[xv] Armutcu, O. (2017) ‘The Constitutional Court Rejected the Appeal Against the Detention of Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça’ Hurriyet. Available online from: https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/anayasa-mahkemesi-nuriye-gulmen-ve-semih-ozakcanin-tutukluluguna-yapilan-itirazi-reddetti-40503721 [Accessed on 08/03/2022]; see also Cakir, A. (2017) ‘ECHR Rejects Semih Özakça and Nuriye Gülmen’s Application’. Voice of America. Available online from: https://www.amerikaninsesi.com/a/aihm-semih-ozakca-ve-nuriye-gulmen-in-basvurusunu-reddetti/3969669.html [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[xvi] Bianet (2017) ‘Nuriye Gülmen Released’. Available online from: https://bianet.org/english/human-rights/192100-nuriye-gulmen-released [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[xvii] ‘Two Turkish Teachers End Almost 11-Month Hunger Strike’.

[xviii] Ibid.

[xix] Duvar English (2020) ‘Dismissed Turkish Academic, Known for Hunger Strike, Arrested Again’. Available online from: https://www.duvarenglish.com/human-rights/2020/08/11/dismissed-turkish-academic-known-for-hunger-strike-arrested-again [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[xx] Yeni Bir Mecra (2020) ‘Critical Decisions in Eğitim-Sen: Nuriye Gülmen was Expelled’. Available online from: https://yeni1mecra.com/egitim-sende-kritik-kararlar-nuriye-gulmen-ihrac-edildi/ [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[xxi] Duvar English (2021) ‘Turkey’s Top Court Rules Dismissed Educators’ Rights Not Violated’. Available online from: https://www.duvarenglish.com/turkeys-top-court-rules-rights-of-dismissed-educators-nuriye-gulmen-and-semih-ozakca-not-violated-news-59436 [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[xxii] Ibid.

Nuriye Gülmen: A Six-Year Struggle Against Systematic Abuses

Nuriye Gulmen

Nearly six years ago, Turkey was rocked by the alleged coup d’état attempt on the 15th of July 2016. A day after the attempt, the Turkish government swiftly established a state of emergency and passed emergency executive decrees Nos. 667-676 that mainly censored media outlets and journalists,[i] but then extended its reach to thousands of civil servants, police officers, armed forces personnel, University professors and staff by name in the annexes of Decree 679 on 6th January 2017.[ii] This resulted in a total of more than 150,000 people losing their jobs, access to social services, their freedom of movement being restricted, their lives tarnished by the government’s accusation that they were tied to the coup allegedly caused by Fetullah Gulen, a Turkish scholar-cleric who has been living in self-exile in the U.S. since 1999 and who has persistently denied the charge coming from Ankara.[iii]

One such person affected in the aftermath of these events is Nuriye Gülmen, a former Turkish professor of comparative literature at Selçuk University in 2012 and who, prior to the coup attempt, was appointed as a research assistant to Eskişehir Osmangazi University in 2015.[iv] Gülmen is not only an academic but also has a history of activism and legal battles against the abuse of institutions in Turkey due to a political lawsuit after her appointment and saw her detained for 109 days, delaying her studies and reinstatement at Eskişehir.[v] The day she was appointed back into her research position was the day of the coup attempt, which led to her suspension from Eskişehir the following day. This was due to the new decrees which found her accused, like thousands with her, of being a member of FETO, the so-called organization of supporters of the exiled Gulen that Erdogan and his government accused of being a terrorist organization. This triggered the next phase of her activist history and since the 9th of November 2016, wherein she had protested against her suspension, eventual dismissal, and persistently requested her job at Eskişehir back every day in front of the Human Rights Monument located in Yüksel Street, Ankara, where the Council of Higher Education is based and who must answer to her demands.[vi] Gülmen explains that this is a ‘revolutionary tradition’ determined in garnering attention and getting what you want, demanding in this case an end to the state of emergency, allowing the revolutionary democratic public labourers that were dismissed and fired to return to their jobs, start assurance for the 13,000 OYP research assistants, and requesting job security for all education and science workers.[vii] Gülmen started her protest largely on her own, being arrested for a total of 26 times which can be attributed to the increasing attention by foreign and domestic spectators observing her actions, reading her experience on her online WordPress blog, and ultimately being named by CNN as one of the eight outstanding women of 2016 by her 50th day of protest.[viii]

This attention was majorly increased after the 6th January Decree of 2017 when Gülmen was dismissed from Eskişehir, resulting in her shifting her strategy to the next gear by engaging in a hunger strike on the 9th of March, 2017. Gülmen, whilst in police custody alongside primary teacher Semih Özakça, he women texperienced the backlash of the Emergency Decrees.[ix] The rationale behind the strike was that verbal protests tend to be the norm in the activist toolkit, which more often than not don’t garner enough attention from authorities, but a hunger strike is a strong action that positions actors engaging in it with the serious health risks at stake, similarly to what Gülmen explains as ‘necessary to take the resistance to the next level’ and to ‘really pressure them to take action’.[x] In reaction to the hunger strike, an indictment was filed on the 2nd of May, 2017, to the 19th Heavy Penal Court in Ankara accusing both Gülmen and Özakça of being members of and involved in the illicit activities of the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), in turn leading to their detention at Sincan Prison in Ankara by 23rd May, 2017.[xi] The court found the pair guilty because ‘if they were not remanded, they would damage the course of justice’, a line that seems contradictory given the lack of evidence in the charges filed and when both teachers remain vigilant in denying any involvement with DHKP-C to the point that their lawyer even publicised their criminal records as proof that no such involvement exists and countered the efforts by Minister for the Interior Suleyman Soylu and his ministry’s research and studies centre to try and solidify the charges.[xii]

It was feared that both teachers would face further human rights violations, since prison guards and doctors are legally allowed to intervene and end a hunger strike without the consent of the teachers. They can also intervene when they are unconscious, as stated under Article 82 of the Law on the Execution of Judgement No. 5275, which as a result would violate freedom of expression and is likely to result in cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment.[xiii] During a visit by the President of the Ankara Bar Association, Hakan Canduran, and some of his colleagues, Gülmen expressed the dire situation in which she and Özakça have found themselves in, telling Canduran that she sees ‘justice is fading just like [her] muscles’ while being unable to hold her neck up without assistance, move her arms or hold a pen. In turn, we saw Canduran call upon the government to end to the hunger strike through societal reconciliation and negotiate with those unjustly impacted by the emergency decrees.[xiv] Throughout mid-2017, the duo filed in the Constitutional Court and also to the European Court of Human Rights to end their detention on the grounds that their hunger strike had by then posed evident health risks, yet both Courts rejected their application because these risks were not life threatening and the proper medical measures were in place to assist them if that became the case.[xv]

Gülmen’s health eventually did become serious and by 26th September, 2017, had warranted her transfer to an inmate cell in Numune Hospital. She was then released from her detention by 1st December, when the 19th Heavy Penal Court sentenced her to 6 years and 3 months in prison, however allowing for her release under judicial control.[xvi] Despite their release, Gülmen and Özakça kept up their protest in front of the Human Rights Monument, but eventually had to end their hunger strike on the 26th of January, 2018, following the rejection of a government commission tapped to review their cases, and instead sought to focus their efforts within the domestic judicial system going forwards, emphasising that their resistance had not ended and would continue.[xvii] After 324 days of engaging in their hunger strike, Gülmen had lost a significant amount of her original weight, dropping from 59 kilograms to 33.8 kilograms, this showing the extent of how serious her efforts were in retaining her job and respect for her rights.[xviii]

The next time Gülmen was in the limelight was when she was once again arrested on 11th August, 2020, during a police raid on the Istanbul’s Idil Culture Centre on the 5th of August, a centre that is run by the leftist folk band Grup Yurum, the reasons for which remain unexplained.[xix] Later that year, Gülmen and other colleagues of hers were expelled from the Education and Science Workers’ Union (Eğitim-Sen) due their image as ‘Yüksel Resistanceists’ or resistance fighters in the public eye.[xx] The last development was as recent as 4th November, 2021, when the pair had filed to the Constitutional Court which later rejected their claims that the 2nd May, 2017, indictment used the same evidence as an earlier investigation on 14th March, 2017, which led to their arrest but was subsequently dismissed and were released under judicial control, indicating that the 2nd May indictment and detention on 23rd May, 2017, violated their rights to liberty and security, further stating that the judicial authorities deciding the case were neither impartial nor independent.[xxi] The Court dismissed their case because Gülmen and Özakça’s claims lacked concrete evidence, that their violated rights was unacceptable to put forward, and that they had not exhausted all domestic means before filing their claims.[xxii]

What is sorely evident from the bold activism of Nuriye Gülmen is that since 2016, the government of Turkey has unjustly targeted hundreds of thousands of individuals based on arguments that do not hold water, and those who have been most affected and decide to oppose the government’s actions will face significant repression through detention and legal intimidation. Broken Chalk calls upon the Turkish Government and proper authorities to seriously reconsider its actions which have left thousands without job security or the option to leave the country and find employment abroad. Broken Chalk especially calls for the reinstatement of Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça, amongst many others, to their respective job positions in the sphere of education, their removal from which has surely reduced the access and quality of education in Turkey.

 

Written by Karl Baldacchino

Edited by Erika Grimes

 

Sources:

[i] Grabenwarter, C. et al. (2017) ‘Draft Opinion on the Measures Provided in the Recent Emergency Decree Laws with Respect to Freedom of the Media’. European Commission for Democracy Through Law (Venice Commission). Available online from: https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL(2017)006-e [Accessed on 08/03/2022], pp. 3-4.

[ii] Decree-Law No. 679 (6th January 2017) ‘Measures Regarding Public Personnel’. Available online from: https://insanhaklarimerkezi.bilgi.edu.tr/media/uploads/2017/02/09/KHK_679_ENG.pdf [Accessed 08/03/2022], p. 1.

[iii] Jones, T. (2018) ‘Two Turkish Teachers End Almost 11-Month Hunger Strike’.  DW. Available online from: https://www.dw.com/en/two-turkish-teachers-end-almost-11-month-hunger-strike/a-42318478 [Accessed 08/03/2022]; Işık, A. (2017) ‘In Turkey, Hope for ‘Justice is Fading Away Just like my Muscles’’. DW. Available online from: https://www.dw.com/en/in-turkey-hope-for-justice-is-fading-away-just-like-my-muscles/a-39482207 [Accessed 08/03/2022].

[iv] Halavut, H. (2017) ‘Interview with Nuriye Gülmen: ‘I Have More Hope Today Than I Did on the First Day’’.  5 Harliler. Available online from: https://www.5harfliler.com/interview-with-nuriye-gulmen/ [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[v] Ibid.

[vi] Ibid.

[vii] Ibid.; see also Gülmen, N. (2016) ‘DİRENİŞİN TALEPLERi’. Available online from: https://nuriyegulmendireniyor.wordpress.com/2016/11/08/basin-aciklamasina-cagri/ [Accessed on 08/03/2022]; see also Wikipedia (2022) ‘Nuriye Gülmen’. Available online from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuriye_G%C3%BClmen#cite_note-18 [Accessed 08/03/2022].

[viii] Ibid.

[ix] Ibid.; see also Amnesty International (2017) ‘Urgent Action: Fear for Hunger Strikers’ Wellbeing’. Available online from: https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/EUR4463402017ENGLISH.pdf [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[x] Ibid.

[xi] ‘Urgent Action: Fear for Strikers’ Wellbeing’.

[xii] Cumhuriyet (2017) ‘Criminal Record of Gülmen and Özakça, Declared ‘Terrorists’ by Minister Soylu’. Available online from: https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/bakan-soylunun-terorist-ilan-ettigi-gulmen-ve-ozakcanin-adli-sicil-kaydi-748105 [Accessed on 08/03/2022]; see also NTV (2017) ‘Statements by Minister Soylu about Semih Özakça and Nuriye Gülmen’. Available online from: https://www.ntv.com.tr/turkiye/bakan-soyludan-aclik-grevi-yapan-nuriye-gulmenle-ilgili-aciklamalar,Jg2i0I634EyPWqK_cXdIbg [Accessed on 08/03/2022]; see also Milliyet (2017) ‘The Unending Scenario of a Terrorist Organisation: “The Truth of Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça”’. Available online from: https://web.archive.org/web/20170813220846/http://www.milliyet.com.tr/bir-teror-orgutunun-bitmeyen-senaryosu-ankara-yerelhaber-2179760/ [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[xiii] ‘Urgent Action: Fear for Strikers’ Wellbeing’; see also ‘In Turkey, Hope for ‘Justice is Fading Away Just like My Muscles’.

[xiv] ‘In Turkey, Hope for ‘Justice is Fading Away Just like My Muscles’.

[xv] Armutcu, O. (2017) ‘The Constitutional Court Rejected the Appeal Against the Detention of Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça’ Hurriyet. Available online from: https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/anayasa-mahkemesi-nuriye-gulmen-ve-semih-ozakcanin-tutukluluguna-yapilan-itirazi-reddetti-40503721 [Accessed on 08/03/2022]; see also Cakir, A. (2017) ‘ECHR Rejects Semih Özakça and Nuriye Gülmen’s Application’. Voice of America. Available online from: https://www.amerikaninsesi.com/a/aihm-semih-ozakca-ve-nuriye-gulmen-in-basvurusunu-reddetti/3969669.html [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[xvi] Bianet (2017) ‘Nuriye Gülmen Released’. Available online from: https://bianet.org/english/human-rights/192100-nuriye-gulmen-released [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[xvii] ‘Two Turkish Teachers End Almost 11-Month Hunger Strike’.

[xviii] Ibid.

[xix] Duvar English (2020) ‘Dismissed Turkish Academic, Known for Hunger Strike, Arrested Again’. Available online from: https://www.duvarenglish.com/human-rights/2020/08/11/dismissed-turkish-academic-known-for-hunger-strike-arrested-again [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[xx] Yeni Bir Mecra (2020) ‘Critical Decisions in Eğitim-Sen: Nuriye Gülmen was Expelled’. Available online from: https://yeni1mecra.com/egitim-sende-kritik-kararlar-nuriye-gulmen-ihrac-edildi/ [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[xi] Duvar English (2021) ‘Turkey’s Top Court Rules Dismissed Educators’ Rights Not Violated’. Available online from: https://www.duvarenglish.com/turkeys-top-court-rules-rights-of-dismissed-educators-nuriye-gulmen-and-semih-ozakca-not-violated-news-59436 [Accessed on 08/03/2022].

[xii] Ibid.