Professor Büşra Ersanlı was detained along with 43 others on Tuesday for suspected links to the KCK, an alleged political umbrella organization that includes the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorist organization. Ersanlı, a member of the Peace and Democracy Party's (BDP) Party Council and Constitutional Commission, was also teaching at the BDP İstanbul Politics Academy. Her arrest sparked criticism from many in academia and the BDP.
“I understand that the esteemed professor had links to that group [KCK]. We hear that she gave lessons on how people can be deceived, how a revolt against the Republic of Turkey can be instigated and how the Republic of Turkey can be divided,” he said on CNN Türk on Wednesday night.
He argued that there cannot be a privileged group when it comes to the law, noting that it was difficult for him to understand objections to the arrest of the professor. “Mrs. Ersanlı is one of thousands of professors in Turkey. I am having a hard time understanding those saying a professor should not be arrested while thousands of other people are being arrested in Turkey. We can be suspicious if all professors were arrested, but one of thousands of professors can be arrested,” he argued.
A large group of Turkish intellectuals, mainly academics, have recently launched a petition campaign to protest the detention of Professor Ersanlı and to call for her release. A joint statement by the group said the detention of Ersanlı, who has for years been working for sustainable peace and a new constitution in Turkey, led to outrage among all circles in the country that believe in the democratic state of law.
Şahin's remarks drew strong criticism from the BDP, with the party's deputy chairman announcing that they would file a criminal complaint against the interior minister. Meral Danış Beştaş argued that the minister obviously violated the principle of presumption of innocence with his remarks as well as the principle of judicial independence and separation of powers. On Thursday she said: “There is no freedom to commit a crime anywhere in the world. This is also valid for ministers or prime ministers. So, we will file a criminal complaint against the interior minister.”
The KCK investigation started in December 2009 and a large number of Kurdish politicians, including several officials from the BDP, have been detained as part of the case since then. The suspects have been accused of various crimes, including membership in a terrorist organization, aiding and abetting a terrorist organization and attempting to destroy the country's unity and integrity. The suspects include mayors and municipal officials from the BDP, which has said the investigation is the government's method of suppressing its politicians, denying any links between its deputies and terrorist organizations.
