Academic and political scientist Emrah Gülsunar was released on bail at his first hearing at Istanbul 51st Criminal Court on the 36th day of his detention in a case where he was charged with “openly inciting crime through the press” due to a survey he shared on social media. In his defense, Gülsunar said that he had discussed the regime debates following Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize within an academic framework and shared the poll in this context, stating, “A political scientist cannot be accused of discussing political regimes.” Gülsunar explained that her arrest constituted pressure on freedom of expression and academic freedom, and that she had been removed from her classes and from an article to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. Her lawyers, Hasan Sınar and Mehmet Can Seyhan, emphasized that the sharing did not target Turkey, that the evidence was collected through the Virtual Patrol application, which was annulled by the Constitutional Court, and that it was unlawful. Although the prosecutor requested that the detention continue, the court released Gülsunar with a ban on leaving the country and postponed the hearing until January 30, 2026.
November 17, 2025
MLSA