"And when I grow, I want to be FREE!"

Sinan Cetin, Imprisoned Student

Do not remain silent in the face of the injustice done to the military students!

They were unjustly arrested on the 15th of July, even though they had not committed any crime!

The military students who were unjustly and unlawfully arrested after the 2016 coup attempt, was not released even after the UN precedent decision on military students.

Our goal in this campaign is to raise awareness of the situation of former military students who were unlawfully arrested and imprisoned for five years in Turkey on this issue in the international arena and the most important thing is the immediate freedom of imprisoned military students and the restoration of their fundamental human rights. 

ln this context, first of all, we need to address the current situation of human rights in Turkey. ln recent years, we see that freedom of speech, press and expression has been restricted in Turkey and many journalists have been imprisoned. Many actions that violate human rights are shaped around political discourses and sanctions. ln recent years, Turkey has been included in the category of the non-free country in human rights reports by different organizations.

On the other hand, the imprisoned military students are deprived of many rights, including the right to freedom. The 355 former military students, who have been imprisoned for roughly almost 5 years since the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, were sentenced to life in prison. Before the coup, students were in different cities in the training camps they held regularly every year, while, they do not have access to communication channels such as telephone, etc. in military areas. Thus, we know that they did not have sufficient means of communication. Accompanied by the orders of their commander, which had to be obeyed by the cadets, at the night of the coup, the students set out to be transferred to the safe zone or to their own facilities / military school.

However, they found themselves among the people who went down to the streets with Erdogan's call. Two of the students were lynched and killed by the public, and many others were beaten. However, we see that the students, who do not understand the ongoing situation around them do not know about the coup, did not take any harmful action against any civilian or anything before and after. Many important elements in the case files prove this, such as the state's security cameras, the public's own videos and ballistic reports, and the consistent statements of the students. Despite all this, the students were sentenced to life imprisonment. 

And during their imprisonment, they were subjected to maltreatments. Some fundamental rights have been denied. Especially during the Covid-19 period, which has been affecting us all, they stay in prison in inadequate conditions. Some students are not getting health services. All these violations have been continuing in varying degrees since they were arrested, and health problems are ignored during the pandemic. While we do not accept the unlawful imprisonment given to the students, we demand that the violations of rights must end, and they must get their freedom immediately. We have full confidence that international organizations and human rights activists will support us and help us make our voices heard.

OUR DEMANDS:

FROM TURKISH COURTS
To review the unjust punishments directed against military students without any political and bureaucratic interference or any biases. 

FROM INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS
To raise concerns about these human rights violations and to direct urgent calls for action to Turkish Government.

FROM LOCAL & GLOBAL MEDIA
To help us to raise awareness about this situation and to increase solidarity by informing people about our campaigns.

We are waiting for your support, thank you for being the voice of the young people who are deprived of their rights.