A group of prominent intellectuals, well-known artists and organisations representing professionals held a media briefing on June 20, at Istanbul Medical Association concerning academic, Nuriye Gülmen and teacher, Semih Özakça as they entered day 104 of their hunger strike. Özakça’s mother Sultan Özakça and his wife Esra Özakça also attended the media briefing.
Gülmen, an academic, and Özakça, a primary school teacher, were arrested on terror charges late on May 23, the 75th day of their hunger strike. They have been continuing their hunger strikes in jail since then.
Sultan Özakça addressed the media briefing and stated that as a mother, she would hold the ruling AKP party responsible for any harm their children, Semih and Nuriye may suffer. Semih and Nuriye’s legal representative, Özgür Yılmaz brought their greetings and provided information relating to their health. He added that their only demand is to be reinstated to their employment.
Esra Özakça spoke about visiting her husband and stated that he was certain about succeeding their action demanding to return to their jobs.
Another speaker, actor Orhan Aydın drew attention to previous “Hayata Dönüş (Return to Life) Operations" and added that “the murderers of today were no different to those". "We have to fight against AKP" he said.
During the week of December 19-26, 2000, 10,000 Turkish soldiers violently had occupied 48 prisons to end two months of hunger strikes and "death fasts" by hundreds of political prisoners. Some 32 inmates and two troops died in the operation.
Another meeting held in support of Nuriye Gülmen ve Semih Özakça on the same day was attacked by police. Protestor Veli Saçılık said: "We have expressed our demands using every democratic means. However, our demands have fallen on deaf ears. They wanted our educator colleagues to die. They came to arrest us as well, but one day they will be brought to justice themselves. Nuriye and Semih will live, this they must keep in their heads."
Saçılık, a sociologist who was dismissed from his post with a state of emergency decree, has been carrying out a protest to demand that two jailed educators on a hunger strike be released and reinstated in their jobs and that he be returned to his job.
