SAR calls on Turkish higher ed to protect its scholars, uphold academic freedom
Posted April 1, 2016
Scholars at Risk has issued a response to Turkey’s Minister of National Education, Nabi Avci, who wrote to SAR on March 3, sharing Turkey’s commitment to academic freedom, while also defending investigations and proceedings against scholars who signed the Academics for Peace petition.
The response to Minister Avci reaffirms SAR’s concern over the investigations and proceedings, highlighting that “academic freedom and institutional autonomy demand a presumption that a scholar’s questions and ideas alone cannot be the basis for professional or personal sanction.” The letter urges the Minister to publicly affirm its commitment to academic freedom and to promptly end the investigations and proceedings against the scholars, and offers SAR’s assistance in maintaining a constructive dialogue on these issues.