We take freedom of expression on political matters to be a
right. There must be a tempering of this to avoid extremes but it’s generally
accepted in liberal democracies. The signing of a petition to criticise
government(s) is part of that free expression.
However, in Turkey, an academic colleague and friend was
dismissed by her university on Tuesday for being one of several hundred people
who supported a petition criticising the Erdogan government’s treatment of the
Kurds. This was signed well before the ‘coup’ of July 15 last year.
Her working life in Turkey has ended, as she told me: “I am
blocked from all universities and public institutions in Turkey, plus no
private companies hire expelled professors because no one wants to deal with
Erdogan. We are now persona non grata
in our own country. Unfortunately I don't have a future in Turkey anymore.”
She was not alone in being dismissed from their university.
As I have other good friends in Turkey, I don’t want this to be perceived as an attack on all Turks but it’s deeply concerning that something as basic as a
dissenting voice is punished so harshly. My colleague is well known to many academic friends but I
haven’t named her for fear of worsening her situation.
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