Boğaziçi University protests: 98 students released from detention

* Photo: Dilek Şen - bianet

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

159 students in total were taken into custody yesterday (February 1) while they were protesting Prof. Melih Bulu, the appointed rector of Boğaziçi University, in front of the South Campus earlier in the day and in front of the Rector's Office inside the campus in the evening.

CLICK - Police storm Boğaziçi University, detain 51 students

According to a statement released by the İstanbul Governor's Office in the early morning hours today, 98 students have been released from detention after giving their statements at the police department.

Speaking to bianet about the issue, attorney Levent Pişkin previously said that of the students who were taken into custody for violating the Law no. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations, over 100 students have been released from the İstanbul Security Directorate in Vatan Avenue.

The released students shared a video message on the social media account of Boğaziçi Dayanışması (Boğaziçi Solidarity) later at night. "Release our other detained friends and our two unlawfully arrested friends," the students said in their video message on Twitter.

Şimdi serbest bırakılan öğrencilerden mesaj var!
Duyuyor musunuz bu çoğul haklının sesini?
Gözaltındaki diğer öğrenci arkadaşlarımızı ve usulsüz haksız tutuklanan 2 arkadaşımızı derhal serbest bırakın.

YAŞASIN ÖĞRENCİ DAYANIŞMASI!#AşağıBakmayacağız#BundanSonrasıBizde pic.twitter.com/h648ILIXll

— Boğaziçi Dayanışması (@boundayanisma) February 2, 2021

'Police entered our campus after years'

The students of the university also released a written statement in the early morning hours today and stated, "In the 158-year history of Boğaziçi University, 159 students were taken into custody today."

"The police did not allow us to leave the school which has been turned into an open prison by the rector appointed to our university, we were confined to the school. Allowed to enter the school by the trustee, hundreds of police officers intervened into our protests that we had been staging at the South Campus in peace and without any violence; 51 of our friends were taken into custody with violence even though they did not show any resistance. That being the case, the police entered our school for the first time after years," the statement of the students read.

Indicating that "since the first day of the appointment of the rector, the university has been under blockade with barricades, anti-riot water water cannon vehicles, armed police vehicles and long-barreled weapons," the students of the university emphasized that "all constituents of Boğaziçi University have been resisting this unlawfulness for a month now."

They also underlined that "since the very beginning, their demands have not been limited to Boğaziçi University, but aimed at an egalitarian, democratic, free and autonomous university system all across Turkey. For this very reason, we could be in solidarity with everyone who has raised their voices against the appointed trustees from different parts of Turkey."

'Release our friends'

Reiterating their slogan "We don't accept, we don't give up", the students stated, "The fact that the gates of our university were handcuffed, our houses were raided in the middle of the night and we were taken into custody and arrested in an unlawful manner have not intimidated us and will not do so. We will never bow down. We are calling from a rightful and honorable place where the power holders cannot even imagine."

Concluding their statement, the students repeated their demands: "Our all detained and arrested friends must be released; the army of police who has blockaded our university must withdraw; all trustee rectors, primarily Melih Bulu, must resign from office immediately; rector elections must be held with the participation of all constituents of universities."

Muslim Students: He is poles apart from our culture

Following the police intervention, a group of students who define themselves as the "Muslim students from Boğaziçi University" have also released a statement. Noting that they opened the document to vote "in an environment where there were Muslim students", they have said, "As we saw that the majority was of the same opinion, we decided to share it with the public."

"We, as the Muslim students of Boğaziçi University, have been following the grave incidents unfolding at our school over the past few days with concern," the statement has read and briefly added:

"Even though the [art] work was hurtful and offending, the ensuing tension must be resolved within the frame of the environment of respect, tolerance and freedom that has been protected in our school for years and that we also support. Therefore, it is unacceptable that the methods of violence, threat, lynch and punishment are used in resolving these disputes.

"In this process, we and several other Muslim friends of ours who have voiced their uneasiness about the work have not been subjected to any discrimination, lynch and profiling.

"On the other side, the divisive and targeting language used by Melih Bulu, the trustee appointed to our university, is poles apart from our belief and the culture of Boğaziçi. Our arrested and detained friends must be released immediately. Rectors must be determined in democratic elections. The police blockade inside and outside the campus must be lifted." (TP/SD)