Turkish authorities have detained at least 12 academics accused of supporting "terror propaganda" after they signed a petition calling for an end to the government's crackdown on Kurdish rebels.
The state-run Anadolu news agency said the academics from Kocaeli University near Istanbul were detained during raids at their homes early Friday, adding nine others are set to also be taken in.
The detainees are among more than 1,200 academics who have signed a statement condemning Turkey's "deliberate massacres and deportation" of Kurdish people in the southeast of the country. The petition also called for an immediate end to the use of curfews and the resumption of the peace process with the PKK Kurdish rebel group.