Turkey accuses hunger-strike teachers of 'terrorism'

A Turkish court has placed under arrest on terrorism charges an academic and a teacher who have been on hunger strike to protest against their dismissal after last year's failed coup, reports said.

Nuriye Gulmen and Semih Ozakca were remanded in custody ahead of trial by an Ankara court late Tuesday on charges of "membership of a terror organisation," the NTV and CNN-Turk channels said. They had initially been detained on Monday.

Both were sacked under the state of emergency imposed after the 15 July attempted coup against the president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that has seen tens of thousands lose their jobs.

Former primary school teacher Ozakca and academic Gulmen began their hunger strike two and a half months ago and have been surviving on water alone.

In a video published as they attended their court hearing, the pair said they were determined to continue their struggle.

"We will continue our fight until we are victorious," said Ozakca.

"For us, the resistance will continue in prison. I invite everyone to continue the resistance outside," said Gulmen.

A protest in their support on Tuesday afternoon in Ankara was violently dispersed by police, with several people arrested.

Some reports indicated they were accused of membership of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), an outlawed Marxist group.

Over 100,000 people from the public sector including judges, teachers, doctors and members of the armed forces have been dismissed in a series of purges criticised by the West and human rights activists.

Amnesty International criticised the "arbitrary dismissals" in a report released Monday, calling on the Turkish government to set up a "prompt and effective appeal mechanism" for those dismissed.

French journalist on hunger strike

A French journalist held in Turkey for over two weeks has begun a hunger strike to protest his detention, press freedom group Reporters Without Borders said on Tuesday.

Photographer Mathias Depardon was detained on 8 May while working on a report in Hasankeyf in the southeastern Batman province for National Geographic magazine. He has been held ever since, despite reports that he would be deported.