Scientists are among hundreds of academics sacked ahead of Turkey's referendum on handing more power to its authoritarian president, says Caghan Kizil

The nation will soon take a pivotal decision Gurcan Ozturk/AFP/Getty Images

Spare a thought for Turkey’s scientists and other academics, who are still being made scapegoats after an attempted coup last summer.

Another 300 were dismissed just weeks ago. Their crime? They had signed a petition for peace in a country where growing authoritarianism and the renewal of conflict with minority groups are a worry.

They include 82-year-old professor Öget Öktem Tanör, who set up the country’s first neuropsychology clinic. A petition calling for her reinstatement has been launched. All this is harming Turkey’s science scene.

Since last July’s …