It has been 10 years since academics jointly signed and published the declaration “We will not be a party to this crime!” Over two years, 406 academics were dismissed under 10 decree-laws, while 822 court cases were filed over the past decade. Hundreds of academics faced investigations and sanctions, while reinstatement rulings became final in only 18 cases.
MLSA- Exactly 10 years ago, on the morning of Sept. 1, 2016, State of Emergency Decree-Law No. 672 was issued, marking one of the starting points of one of the largest purges in the recent history of Turkey’s universities. The lists attached to the decree-law also included the names of academics who, eight months earlier, had signed the declaration titled “We will not be a party to this crime!”
Over the course of those 10 years, some academics were dismissed from their universities, while others were forced to resign or retire. Disciplinary investigations were launched, and some were detained or arrested. Some of the signatories appeared in court, and prison sentences were handed down against some of them. Those dismissed by decree-law, meanwhile, waged a yearslong legal battle to return to their posts, taking their cases from administrative courts to the Court of Cassation and the Constitutional Court.
Updated data from Academics for Peace (BAK), dated Sept. 1, 2026, show that the consequences of the declaration published on Jan. 11, 2016, were not limited to dismissals from universities.
According to BAK data, a total of 549 academics — 437 from public universities and 76 from foundation universities — resigned, were forced to resign, retired, were forced to retire, were dismissed or were removed from public service under state of emergency decree-laws because they had signed the declaration.
According to the latest data, a total of 406 academics — 398 from public universities and eight from foundation universities — were removed from public service under state of emergency decree-laws.
Outside the decree-law dismissals, 89 academics were fired, 72 resigned or were forced to resign, and 27 retired or were forced to retire.
Among the academics dismissed by decree-law, 42 had also been fired or forced to resign. BAK notes that nine academics who were reinstated are not included in the total.
The figures show that the purge that followed the declaration was not limited to the names listed in the decree-laws. For some, leaving the university came through a single decision; for others, the process unfolded through resignation, retirement or dismissal.
Following the dismissals, a significant number of academics applied to the State of Emergency Measures Inquiry Commission. However, the vast majority of these applications produced no result.
Investigations, detentions and arrests
Pressure on the academics was not limited to administrative measures taken by universities.
According to BAK data, disciplinary investigations were conducted against 505 academics. The files of 112 academics were sent to Turkey’s Council of Higher Education (YÖK) with requests that they be “dismissed from the university teaching profession or public service.”
In addition, 101 academics were suspended from their posts, while seven were removed from administrative positions.
Seventy of the signatories were detained and four were arrested. Three of the four academics who were arrested were released after 40 days in custody, while the fourth was released after 22 days. The court cases against these academics are still ongoing.
One declaration, years of court cases
Following the publication of the declaration, the academics faced years of litigation as part of the ensuing judicial process. Over time, the proceedings expanded into hundreds of separate case files. According to BAK’s latest data, a total of 822 court cases were filed against academics who signed the “We will not be a party to this crime!” declaration.
For the dismissed academics, the legal process was further prolonged by the State of Emergency Measures Inquiry Commission. Of the applications submitted to the commission, 380 were rejected. Those whose applications were denied included 375 academics dismissed from public universities and five dismissed from foundation universities.
The commission, established in 2017, announced its rejection decisions at the end of 2021. The academics were only able to apply to the courts after that point, meaning access to justice remained tied to the commission process for nearly five years.
Some of the cases resulted in prison sentences. According to rulings in BAK’s database, 138 academics were sentenced to 15 months in prison, seven to 18 months, one to 18 months and 22 days, and 18 to 22 months and 15 days, with the announcement of the verdict deferred.
In some cases, the prison sentences were suspended, while in others they were not.
In this way, a single sentence from the declaration resurfaced repeatedly before the academics in different court cases over the years. For the signatories, the text published on Jan. 11, 2016, was not merely a political statement; it also became central to the investigations, court cases and dismissals that followed over the next decade.
Legal process continues in the higher courts
The legal process in cases filed by academics dismissed under decree-laws has also been lengthy. According to BAK data dated July 20, 2026, the 5th Chamber of the Court of Cassation upheld rulings in favor of academics in 18 cases, upheld rulings against academics in four cases, and overturned a ruling against an academic in one case. In 29 cases, meanwhile, it overturned rulings in favor of the academics. Some of these case files were sent back to the relevant administrative courts for reconsideration.
The legal process is also continuing at other levels of the higher judiciary. There are four applications pending before the Constitutional Court and nine cases before the Board of Administrative Law Chambers of the Court of Cassation.
While some of the academics whose names appeared on decree-law lists have continued their academic careers in other countries or at other institutions, others continue to pursue legal battles in Turkish courts to return to their posts.
