Private İstanbul University Sacks Professor Over Complaint Against Erdoğan

A private İstanbul-based university has dismissed a professor of law following disciplinary proceedings against him over a complaint he filed against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who failed to resign as prime minister or chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) after being elected president in the Aug. 10 elections.

According to the diken.com.tr news site, Professor Hayrettin Ökçesiz was sacked by the administration at Aydın University after a series of disciplinary proceedings. The university took disciplinary action against the professor shortly after he filed the complaint against Erdoğan. The complaint aimed to have Erdoğan investigated for his infraction of regulations. Ökçesiz had filed the complaint on the grounds that Erdoğan was acting as president, prime minister and party leader at the same time.

The university then gave Ökçesiz a warning and a wage cut on the grounds that he acted against six of the Institutions Administrator, Instructors and Civil Servants Disciplinary Regulations of the Higher Education Board (YÖK), which prohibit academics from making statements to the press on matters other than academic issues without prior consent from their university.

Last month, he was suspended from his position and was not allowed to give lectures. The university finally dismissed Ökçesiz last week. The university linked the professor's expulsion to failing to show up at work for three consecutive days. But, according to the professor, it is clear the reason was his complaint against Erdoğan.

In an interview with diken.com.tr on Wednesday, Ökçesiz said he did not expect the complaint he filed would bear such consequences and vowed to pursue his rights. “I will even apply to the European Court of Human Rights [ECtHR] if need be. This is not an issue of Hayrettin Ökçesiz, this is an issue of academic freedoms,” he said.

In a farewell message he wrote to his students on Facebook, Ökçesiz urged his students to have courage. “Law is a profession of courage. Be brave,” he said.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)