Büşra Ersanli, a constitutional law expert and professor of political science at Marmara University in Istanbul, was arrested on October 28, 2011 as part of a mass operation targeting the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK). Also arrested as part of the same crackdown was academic and writer Ragip Zarakolu, known for his defense of public expression and minority rights. According to their lawyers, their arrests were made in connection with lectures they gave at the Peace and Democracy Party Academy, a pro-Kurdish political organization. On November 2, 2011, Zarakolu released an open letter through his lawyer, in which he states that his arrest was “part of a campaign to intimidate all intellectuals and democrats living in Turkey and, more specifically, to isolate Kurds.”

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