Police violence against students protesting for affordable housing in İstanbul, İzmir

* Photo: Yurtsuzlar / Twitter

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

The police intervened against the protests of university students against high dorm fees and rents in İstanbul's Kadıköy and İzmir.

According to a social media post by "Yurtsuzlar" (Those without shelter), the police attacked the young people staying the night at Kadıköy's Moda Park for 8 days, battering and detaining nearly 50 people.

#YurtsuzlarGözaltında diyerek bütün dostlarımızı günlerdir savunduğumuz nöbetin sesini yükseltmeye çağırıyoruz. Polis saldırısı sonucu yaklaşık 50 arkadaşımız gözaltına alındı.

— yurtsuzlar (@yurtsuzlar_) September 27, 2021

Nearly 30 students detained in İzmir

The police intervened against the "We cannot find housing" protests in İzmir as well. Taking nearly 30 people into custody by force, they were seen to be inflicting violence on the detained in the minibus.

İzmir'de yurtsuz üniversiteliler insanca yaşama talepleri için direnişlerinin 8. gününde işkenceyle gözaltına alındı. Gözaltı aracında polis işkenceye devam ediyor! #YurtsuzlarGözaltında pic.twitter.com/S87ru6DQ89

— yurtsuzlar (@yurtsuzlar_) September 27, 2021

The students who wanted their friends to be released and a police chief had an argument about "the law." When the police chief told the young that "it was forbidden to sit there", they asked the officer to explain the legal grounds for the prevention of their protests and the detention of their friends. The officer said, "Never mind that. You must disperse in 5 minutes."

kalacak yeri olmayan öğrencilere saldırıyorlar. 1150 odalı saraydan verilen emirle. https://t.co/kZgmk2FBo8

— metin cihan (@metcihan) September 27, 2021

Rear handcuffs at the entrance of hospital

In the Aegean province of İzmir, police officers battered the students at the entrance of the İzmir Katip Çelebi University Atatürk Training and Research Hospital (former Yeşilyurt State Hospital), where they took the detained students for a medical check.

The students who were detained in the police minibus shared these images on social media, attaching the note, "Torture in detention."

The images shared on social media show that the police inflicted violence on a student whom they forced to lie on the ground.

GÖZALTINDA İŞKENCE VAR!
İzmirde gözaltına alınan arkadaşlarımız Yeşilyurt Devlet Hastanesinde tekrardan darp edilerek işkenceyle kelepçeleniyor. Tüm kamuoyunu arkadaşlarımıza desteğe çağırıyoruz!#YurtsuzlarGözaltında pic.twitter.com/quZLZAuxys

— yurtsuzlar (@yurtsuzlar_) September 27, 2021

What do the students demand?

In a social media message shared by the "Barınamıyoruz Hareketi" (We cannot find housing Movement) account on September 20, it was underlined that several university students who have returned to their schools for in-class education after two years have become homeless due to the insufficient capacity of state dorms, high prices of private dorms and rents.

"We have become homeless due to the rent increases of 70 percent to 290 percent across Turkey," the movement has said on social media.

While 815,365 students have been placed in a university this year, millions of students are in need of housing across the country.

Erdoğan say that "they are so-called students'

Addressing the public following the Presidential cabinet meeting yesterday evening (September 27), President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan referred to the protesting students as "so-called students" and briefly said:

"Turkey is the country which has the highest number of public higher education dormitories and beds in the world. I would like to underline that some of those who have been recently lying on banks in some parks and gardens have nothing to do with being students."

Referring to the Gezi resistance of 2013, Erdoğan argued that the protests "were another version of the Gezi Park incident." (TP/SD)