Ankara Police Raids Apartments, Detains Students

Anti-terror police teams raided several apartments this morning, detaining students who protested PM Erdogan during Göktürk 2 satellite ceremony at METU on Tuesday evening.

Authorities said detained students who have been charged with assault on police and violation on protest and gathering regulations, were not allowed to meet their lawyers due to ongoing operation.

A list of detained students included Mert Atmaca, Mustafa Bozkurt, Hasan Koç, Hüseyin Koç (readers of Kaldıraç magazine), İlhan Aslan (Socialist Democracy Youth), Can Kaya (Hacettepe University), Cem Dursun, Batuhan Demirci (Youth Federation), Güven Kazım Altunkaya, İlhan Şen, Sercan Çınar (METU Mountain and Winter Sports Club) and Bedirhan Şen.

Police raid has been executed according to Article 10 of Turkey's Anti-Terror Act by the order of Chief Prosecutor Sadık Bayındır, who previously prosecuted medicine students for terrorism charges.

Can Kaya who has been detained this morning, stood trial on a previous prosecution in Hopa case.

Following the raids, several student groups and activists announced protests in Ankara and Istanbul.

* METU students announced a protest walk scheduled at 4:30 pm.

* Many students in Istanbul agreed to meet in Taksim Square at 5 pm for a protest walk.

* Another group announced to make a statement on the steps of Prime Ministry in Ankara at 6 pm. Many students decided to head to METU following the statement and not leave campus until their friends' release.

This article has been partially compiled from sendika.org and muhalefet.org