Thread by @michaeltalbotuk

Noémi Lévy Aksu is a historian & one of the Academics for Peace. A Turkish court has sentenced her to 30 months imprisonment for signing a petition.

The following thread is a translation of the powerful speech she made to the court in November. 1/19

m.bianet.org/english/freedo…

“First of all, I want to make clear that I didn’t sign the petition ‘We Will Not Be Complicit In This Crime’ as a citizen of the Republic of Turkey. I moved to Turkey at the age of 23. I don’t have Turkish roots.” 2/19

“I could have stayed French, but I considered that the cover given by a foreign passport that might have enabled me to remain silent was neither ethically nor politically acceptable. I signed as a human being, in the name of humanity.” 3/19

“One of the reasons why I applied for Turkish citizenship after signing the petition is that I wanted to fully bear the legal and political responsibilities of citizenship, including that of this court.” 4/19

“The curfews, demolitions, and civilian deaths caused by unrestrained and disproportionate violence have been published in the national and international media, and documented in many independent reports.” 5/19

“I signed for peace, to react against unlawful and unjust state violence. I don’t feel pride in having signed. I wish we could have expressed this reaction more strongly. I wish we could have been more immediately beside the victims of this war.” 6/19

“The fact that we signed a few paragraphs of text was the minimum human response, one that should be expected from academics who, as their profession, produce and share knowledge and critical thinking.” 7/19

“It did not solve the suffering, nor did it bring peace or democracy. But, even if this was the minimum response, at least it was good that it contributed to the demolition of the wall of silence and indiference. It is good that I signed it.” 8/19

“In the months leading up to this hearing, the accused academics and lawyers have demonstrated that the accusations of the indictment are unproven and baseless. I do not think differently.” 9/19

“After being expelled from Boğaziçi University, I decided to move from History to Law, in the hope that I might fight against injustice and inequality in a more concrete and meaningful way.” 10/19

“But when freedoms of expression and criticism are so openly ignored, I think that in such a case the law is deficient, perhaps even useless.” 11/19

“It is, of course, worrying to be tried in a legal system whose justice is questionable, whose practices are inconsistent and arbitrary. But reading the indictment as a human being, and as a new citizen, questions that made me even more concerned came to mind.” 12/19

“Whilst the prisons are full with political detainees and prisoners, whilst the high criminal courts spend so much effort and energy to indict us and countless citizens like us with various crimes... 13/19

... when will justice provide for those citizens killed or wounded by the violence of the state in the streets of Sur, in the basements of Cizre, in the homes of Nusaybin?” 14/19

“Are those who have lost everything from violence, those who were victims of torture, those whose houses were destroyed still waiting for their turn? Or will they have to demand justice from the European Court of Human Rights?” 15/19

“It is not criticism that undermines the state or harms democracy and social harmony, but repeated arbitrary violence, unaccountability, and injustice.” 16/19

“It is every citizen’s right to live in a country where the rights to life, justice, and freedom are respected. It is the responsibility of all of us to defend these rights.” 17/19

“For all these reasons, I deny all charges and demand my acquittal.” 18/19

m.bianet.org/1/19/202233-no…

You can sign this petition: buff.ly/2WMsT4k in solidarity with Noémi and other Academics for Peace. For more background to Noémi’s situation, you can also read the incredible speech she gave in 2017 to her colleagues and students: 5harfliler.com/noemi-levy-aks… 19/19