Ralph Fertig. Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times.

The U.S. Supreme Court next week will hear arguments on whether USC social work professor Ralph Fertig should face jail time for speaking out on behalf of Turkey’s Kurdish minority.

The U.S. has designated the Kurdistan Workers Party, which represents Kurds, a terrorist organization. But Fertig says he has advised Kurdish leaders to avoid violence and he believes his communication with them is protected under the First Amendment Right to free speech.

“I am opposed to violence. It seems crazy to me that I could go to jail for trying to persuade people to engage in nonviolence,”  he said.

To read the full Los Angeles Times story on Fertig’s case, click here.