150 academics who signed a petition calling for an end to violence and resumption of peace negotiations will stand trial on December 5 in Istanbul.

Entitled “We won’t be a party to this crime”, the petition urged Ankara to “abandon its deliberate massacre and deportation of Kurdish and other peoples in the region”.   

1,128 academics from 89 universities in Turkey, and over 355 academics and researchers from abroad signed the petition.

Turkey launched an investigation against the academics and arrested Meral Camcı, Kıvanç Ersoy, Esra Mungan and Muzaffer Kaya who organized the press conference to declare the signatories to the public.

150 academics in Istanbul will stand trial on December 5. 

The indictment accused the academics of “terrorist propaganda”, “inciting people to hatred, violence and breaking the law” and “insulting Turkish institutions and the Turkish Republic.”

If convicted, they could face between one and five years in prison. 

The case caught international attention after US academic Noam Chomsky rejected an invitation by Turkish president Erdogan to see “the true picture”.

“If I decide to go to Turkey, it will not be on his invitation, but as frequently before at the invitation of the many courageous dissidents, including Kurds who have been under severe attack for many years” Chomsky wrote in response.