Turkish police and judiciary has launched an operation against academics who signed a declaration of peace against the AKP government's ongoing war against civilian population in the Kurdish region.

The action against academics, which includes detention, questioning and dismissal, has come after the threats of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who said “Those earning from this state and committing treason against it must be punished”.

According to a report by Turkish daily Radikal, the query by Anti-Terror Department of Police Directorate of Bursa has accused three academics detained in the city of receiving instruction from KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) through a news article published by ANF on 22 December, 2015.

The cited report by ANF was an interview with KCK Executive Council Co-President Bese Hozat who called upon the intellectual and democrat circles in Turkey to support the self-rule resistance of the Kurdish people in order for the achievement of democratization in the entire country. Police described the interview as an “instruction”, claiming that the joint declaration of peace was released on 11 January in line with this news. The declaration of peace was also described as “written in the jargon of PKK members”.