MOSCOW (Sputnik) — In January, 1,128 local and international scientists signed the Academics for Peace petition calling for cessation of military operation in the southeast of Turkey.
"Regarding academics at public universities there have been 464 investigations, nine firings, five resignations, 27 suspensions, 153 criminal proceedings opened, and 33 detentions," the statement reads, as quoted by Esra Mungan from Bogazici University’s Psychology Department and reported by the Hurriyet newspaper.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan previously called the signatories "poor excuses for intellectuals."
Violence in Turkey escalated in mid-2015, when the Turkish government launched a military campaign against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is outlawed in the country.
