IV. FOUR CASE STUDIES
3. Haluk Gerger, Political Scientist

Political scientist Dr. Haluk Gerger is among a number of social scientists in Turkey who have been prosecuted for exercising their right to freedom of expression. At the time of writing this report, Dr. Gerger was serving a twenty-month prison sentence at Gudul Penitentiary.^[34]  A court of appeals ratified Dr. Gerger's second twenty-month term for his article, "Emergency Rule Region and Operation Provide Comfort," which appeared in the now defunct Turkish Daily, Everensel.^[35]  He is not scheduled to be released until February 2000, and eight additional charges are still pending against Dr. Gerger in connection to books and articles he wrote and speeches that he made abroad.^[36] 

Haluk Gerger in Haymana Prison

A former assistant professor at the University of Ankara, Dr. Gerger is a well-known intellectual and a respected writer on nuclear weapons and strategy. He was educated at the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of John Hopkins University in Washington, DC, Stockholm University in Sweden, and Herford College in Oxford, England.

Following the 1980 military coup, Dr. Gerger was one of the authors of the "Intellectuals' Petition" criticizing the military's actions, which was addressed to the head of the military junta. A military court acquitted Dr. Gerger of any charges related to the petition; however, he was among hundreds of professors fired when the university system was restructured in 1982.^[37]  He has not taught at a university in Turkey since that time.

A founding member of the Turkish Human Rights Association, Dr. Gerger is an ardent defender of Kurdish rights, although not a Kurd himself. A well-known academic in Turkey, he has written extensively on the issue and has criticized governmental policies. He has likened the Turkish government's treatment of the Kurds to Serbia's ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Bosnia.^[38]  He has been imprisoned and heavily fined by Turkish courts for writing letters and articles expressing his political opinions.

During an initial mission to Turkey in July 1995, the author of this report visited Dr. Gerger while he served a twenty-month prison sentence in Haymana Prison, just outside of Ankara. Upon his release from prison, the Program recognized Dr. Gerger during an annual reception honoring scientists who have been prisoners of conscience. The reception was held during the 1996 AAAS Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Gerger spoke passionately about the violence and human rights violations occurring in the southeast of Turkey. He urged scientists to "exert pressure on both the government of the United States and Turkey on behalf of peace, freedom, and respect for human rights," and added that, "these are all values very much relevant to, or rather, preconditions for scientific endeavor."^[39]  In 1996, Dr. Gerger was also one of the recipients of the Hellman/Hammett grants awarded by Human Rights Watch to writers around the world whose books have been banned or who have been exiled, imprisoned, tortured, or harassed because of their work.^[40] 

Turkish legislation used to criminalize Dr. Gerger's peaceful expression includes:

• Article 8 of the Anti-Terror Law, written and oral propaganda and assemblies, meetings, and demonstrations with the aim of damaging the indivisible unity of the State of the Republic of Turkey, the nation and its territories...regardless of the method, intention and ideas thereof;
• Amended Article 8 of the Anti-Terror Law, now requiring the courts to prove intent;
• Article 312 of the Turkish Penal Code, inciting people against each other by making racial discrimination; and
• Article 312/2 of the Turkish Penal Code, praising an action deemed a crime in the law.

In December 1993, Dr. Gerger was convicted of "spreading separatist propaganda" for sending a message to a meeting held in Ankara on 23 May 1993 commemorating three political prisoners who were executed in 1972. He was sentenced to twenty months in prison and fined 208,000,000TL (approximately US$5,000).^[41]  The sentence was ratified by the Supreme Court in 1994. Dr. Gerger was to be freed on 23 September 1995, but he refused to pay the fine, part of which was then converted to a three-year prison sentence. His refusal to pay was a challenge to the government's policy to levy heavy fines that are then converted to prison terms when defendants are not able to pay.^[42]  According to Dr. Gerger, individuals are frequently fined exorbitant sums of money that they are unable to pay while they are serving prison terms. This policy is apparently intended to extend prison sentences. Dr. Gerger's refusal to pay, despite his ability to do so and offers from others to cover the fine, was meant to bring attention to the unreasonable nature of the system. He also remained in prison to bring attention to human rights violations during the lead-up to the vote on Turkey's admittance to the European Customs Union.

Dr. Gerger paid the fine on 27 October 1995 and was released from prison. At the time he stated, "I had to pay for my freedom. In this country slavery is free, but you have to pay for freedom."^[43] 

On 17 November 1995, Dr. Gerger was retried under the amended version of Article 8 of the Anti-Terror Law for the December 1993 conviction. His sentence was commuted to ten months in prison and 84,000,000TL (US$420) by the Ankara State Security Court. The new sentence was ratified by the Supreme Court on 10 April 1996.

Dr. Gerger's social standing has afforded him good treatment during his imprisonment. While serving time for his 1993 conviction, Dr. Gerger was held alone in a cell meant to hold four prisoners. He was allowed visitors, received mail, and was able to contribute a column to the newspaper for which he worked. He had a personal computer, a television, and a refrigerator. He explained that this would certainly not be the case if his captors were not aware of the international recognition that his case had gained.

According to information received by the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, on 6 October 1995, while serving an earlier sentence, Dr. Gerger was sentenced by the State Security Court to 20 months in prison and fined an additional 208,000,000TL (US$1,041) for an article that he wrote which was published on 18 December 1993.

In November 1995, Dr. Gerger was prosecuted under Article 312 of the Turkish Penal Code for his article "Kurdi," which was published in the newspaper Evrensel, for inciting people against each other by making racial discrimination.

He was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison and fined under Article 312/2 of the Turkish Penal Code in connection with another article, "The State of Emergency and Operation Provide Comfort," published on 30 June 1995 in the newspaper Evrensel. The former editor-in-chief of the newspaper was also sentenced to one year and twenty months in prison, although the sentence was later commuted to a fine of 3,525,000TL (US$20).

On 24 July 1996, the Supreme Court overturned an acquittal handed down in the trial launched against Dr. Gerger for a speech he delivered in Germany, which was published in Ozgur Gunden. The editor-in-chief of Ozgur Gunden was prosecuted along with Dr. Gerger. He had also previously been acquitted. The Supreme Court demanded that Dr. Gerger and the editor-in-chief be prosecuted under Article 312 for "praising the action deemed a crime in the law."

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued a resolution declaring the imprisonment of Haluk Gerger to be arbitrary. The Working Group asked the government of Turkey to take the necessary steps to remedy the situation and noted that the application of Article 8 of the Anti-Terror Law constitutes a "violation of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, a right guaranteed under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights."^[44]  The Working Group cited "the imprecise nature of charges such as those provided under Article 8/1 of the Anti-Terror Law, which could be used as a pretext for grave violations of the right to freedom of opinion and expression."^[45] 

On International Human Rights Day, 10 December 1997, Dr. Gerger was once again sentenced by the State Security Court to one year in prison and fined approximately US$2,000 for an article that he wrote in 1993 for the now banned Kurdish Daily, Ozgur Gunden.^[46] 

The prosecution of Dr. Gerger for the peaceful expression of his views constitutes a serious violation of international human rights instruments to which Turkey is bound as a State Party. (Turkey's international human rights obligations are described in detail in the Introduction of this report.) Among the rights Turkey has agreed to protect are:

• freedom of thought, conscience and religion;
• freedom of expression; and
• freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association.

Dr. Gerger's inability to teach at a Turkish university demonstrates the degree to which Turkish intellectuals must conform to state ideology to maintain their status within the university system. Although a few intellectuals have been able to resist attempts to oust them, many more either exercise self-censorship or are forced out of the system.

The state's persecution of Dr. Gerger solely for the peaceful expression of his opinion is a chilling example of the limits to freedom of expression in Turkey. His prosecution for speeches delivered outside of Turkey are a clear attempt to extend Turkish jurisdiction by silencing those who wish to return to Turkey. Indeed, during a public meeting held at AAAS, when an Amnesty International representative cautioned Dr. Gerger that his statements might be used against him upon his return to Turkey, Dr. Gerger replied that he would make the very same statements in Turkey despite the consequences.