To the Editor:
Between 1999 and 2014 over 400 up-and-coming leaders in the Turkish National Police came to the United States for graduate studies, including 235 who enrolled in Ph.D. programs. They were hand-picked and funded by the Turkish government as part of an effort to further professionalize the police and broaden their horizons. They were expected to return to police service in Turkey once they completed their studies. The vast majority did return, and were assigned to positions as local police chiefs, police academy instructors, and heads of critical units countering terrorism, organized crime, and drug trafficking.
Following the alleged coup attempt in Turkey in 2016, President Erdogan began a massive purge of police, military, and judicial officials. Virtually all of the police who had studied in the U.S. were fired, branded as traitors and terrorists. Many were arrested and imprisoned. Some escaped from Turkey while others went into hiding. Their lives were turned upside down, their families were threatened, and their professional careers were destroyed, with no pretense of due process or fairness. Those who were able to escape to other countries continue to face harassment by the Turkish government.
We are 50 professors of criminal justice and criminology who had the pleasure and honor of knowing and teaching these young professionals while they studied in the U.S. We were impressed with their academic commitment and intellectual curiosity. Our hearts now break for them, especially because they have been punished, and continue to suffer, simply because they studied in the United States.
The least we can do is publicly express our support for, and solidarity with, these former students of ours, and decry the shameful violation of human rights that has been committed against them.
Jay Albanese, Virginia Commonwealth University
Richard Bennett, American University
Anthony Braga, Northeastern University
David Carter, Michigan State University
Ko-lin Chin, Rutgers University
Ron Clarke, Rutgers University
Gary Cordner, Eastern Kentucky University
Nicholas Corsaro, University of Cincinnati
John Eck, University of Cincinnati
Robin Engel, University of Cincinnati
Marcus Felson, Texas State University
James Finckenauer, Rutgers University
James Frank, University of Cincinnati
Eric Fritsch, University of North Texas
Jack Greene, Northeastern University
Maria Haberfeld, City University of New York
Thomas Hughes, University of Louisville
Victor Kappeler, Eastern Kentucky University
Andrew Karmen, City University of New York
Deborah Keeling, University of Louisville
David Kessler, Kent State University
Joseph Kuhns, University of North Carolina-Charlotte
David Lambert, Roger Williams University
Edward Latessa, University of Cincinnati
Nicholas Lovrich, Jr., Washington State University
Phillip Lyons, Jr. of Sam Houston State University
Michael Maxfield, City University of New York
Candace McCoy, City University of New York
Robert McCrie, City University of New York
Jack McDevitt, Northeastern University
Edmund McGarrell, Michigan State University
Robert McKenna, Roger Williams University
Alida Merlo, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Stephen Morreale, Worcester State University
Peter Moskos, City University of New York
Mahesh Nalla, Michigan State University
Mangai Natarajan, City University of New York
Will Oliver, Sam Houston State University
Anthony Pesare, Roger Williams University
Jeffrey Ian Ross, University of Baltimore
Jeffrey Rush, Troy University
Eli Silverman, City University of New York
Debra Stanley, University of Baltimore
Robert Taylor, University of Texas-Dallas
Gennaro Vito, University of Louisville
Bill Wakefield, University of Nebraska-Omaha
William Walsh, University of Louisville
Vince Webb, Arizona State University
David Wilson, George Mason University
Ross Wolf, University of Central Florida