Academic faces arrest warrant for writing “Bijî Kurdistan” on social media

Research assistant Hifzullah Kutum of the Elazig Fırat University Department of Finance was suspended by the rectorate on the grounds that he wrote “Şoreşa Îlonê hemû Kurdan piroz be, Bijî Kurdistan” (Happy September Revolution to all Kurds. Long live Kurdistan) on the social media.

An arrest warrant was issued for academic Kutum after his suspension from duty. A Turkish flag was hung on the door of his room in the university.

“The research assistant, who is alleged to have conducted terrorist propaganda through his social media posts, has been suspended by our Rectorate and an investigation has been launched against him. A criminal complaint has also been submitted to the judicial authorities about the person in question,” a statement released by the university administration said.

“There are people I do not know in the university and they are not students. At least not the students I know. They’re waiting in front of my office. I suspect a threatening situation. In the event of a threat of violence against me, I will use my right to self-defence,” Kutum wrote on his social media account this morning.

Ayşegül Karaçorlu, an executive assistant to Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Elazığ provincial chair Semih Işıkver, shared a photo of a Turkish flag hanging on the door of Kutum’s office at the university.