* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA) - Archive
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An indictment has been filed against seven people, four arrested pending trial, for joining the Boğaziçi University protests in İstanbul's Kadıköy.
Having protested the appointment of Prof. Melih Bulu as a rector to Boğaziçi University by President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, they now face 6 months to 11 years in prison for "attending meetings and demonstrations by holding arms and similar objects or making themselves unrecognizable", "damaging public property", "resisting to prevent public duty" and "attending illegal meetings and demonstrations unarmed and not dispersing by oneself despite warnings."
The indictment prepared by the İstanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has indicated that the Governor's Office of İstanbul banned all types of demonstrations and marches in Beşiktaş, Sarıyer and Kadıköy, adding that "upon the calls of socialist and marginal groups" on social media, a protest was still held in Kadıköy on February 2, 2021.
Saying that the seven people under investigation joined the protest by abiding by these calls, the indictment has alleged that some defendants did not follow the warnings of security forces to disperse, some of them prevented the passage of police vehicles by kicking garbage containers, toppling them and setting up a barricade in their way, some defendants prevented the security forces from fulfilling their duty by using force and damaged police vehicles by kicks and stones.
According to the indictment, a total damage of 46 thousand lira was caused by the damage to two police vehicles during the protest.
The indictment has been sent to the İstanbul Anadolu 35th Penal Court of First Instance to be evaluated.
Students will boycott classes for a week
On the other side, the students of Boğaziçi University who have been protesting the appointed rector for over two months have declared the March 22-29 Week "the Festival of Resistance."
Making a statement, they have announced that they will boycott the classes for six days as six students in total are still behind bars.
The statement of the students has raised concerns over the detention, arrest and house arrest of their friends as well as the disciplinary investigations launched against the students, the closure of the university's LGBTI+ students club, targeting remarks made through the media, the police blockade and the violence of private security guards.
Referring to the ongoing support from Turkey and around the world for their protest, the students have said, "With this solidarity, our two arrested friends were freed on March 17, but our six friends are still behind bars. Moreover, we have learnt that they will face 11 years in prison."
Noting that "they will not turn a blind eye to the normalization of this situation", they have said, "While the spring term is starting, we, as the students of Boğaziçi University, say, 'If our friends are not here, we are not here, either.' We will boycott for six days for our six arrested friends."
The students' statement has read, "In the face of the government that attacks not only the right of education of our friends but also the right to life of everyone who does not obey it and in the face of the impositions of trustees, we open the spring term with boycott and a festival where we will look for an answer to the question, 'What kind of a university?'"
Accordingly, during the "Festival of Resistance", events will be held at the South Campus of Boğaziçi in İstanbul and on online platforms.
What happened?Prof. Melih Bulu was appointed as the President of Boğaziçi University in a Presidential Decree published in the Official Gazette on January 1, 2021. The appointment of Bulu sparked harsh criticisms among both the students and academics of the university as well as in the academic community. Appointed to Boğaziçi, one of the most prestigious universities in Turkey, from outside its community, Bulu was a candidate for nomination to run in the Parliamentary elections in 2015 for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which is chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The students and several students' clubs of the university campaigned on social media under the hashtag #kayyımrektöristemiyoruz (We don't want a trustee-rector). The call of the students was also supported by the faculty members of the university, who released a joint statement on January 3. "An academic outside Bogazici University community was appointed as rector (university president), which is a practice introduced for the first time after the 1980s military tutelage," read their statement. Amid harsh criticisms of students and faculty members, Prof. Bulu shared a message on his Twitter account, welcoming his appointment to the position, saying, "We are all in the same boat." The students protested the appointment of Bulu in front of the South Campus of the university in İstanbul on January 4. However, the police intervened into the protest with pepper gas and plastic bullets. Next day, it was reported that there were detention warrants against 28 people for "violating the law on meetings and demonstrations" and "resisting the officer on duty." Later in the day, 22 of them were detained. 40 people in total were detained over the protests. All of the detained were released on January 7 and 8, 2021. The protests of students and faculty members at the South Campus of Boğaziçi University have been going on since January 4. Taken into custody over a picture of the Kaaba, a sacred site in Islam, with a Shahmaran figure and four LGBTI+ flags on its corners, two students were arrested and two were placed under house arrest over this picture displayed at an exhibition as part of the protests at the South Campus. On February 1, police stormed the South Campus and intervened into the students' protests. Earlier in the day, the students gathered in front of the campus for the protest. Police hindered the protest while also preventing the students inside the South Campus from joining their friends outside. With the 51 students taken into custody inside the campus in the evening, the number of detained increased to 159. In a statement released by the İstanbul Governor's Office in the early morning hours on February 2, it was announced that 98 students were released from detention. On February 2, Boğaziçi University students gathered in Kadıköy Rıhtım for another protest, which was attacked by the police with plastic bullets and tear gas. 134 people were taken into custody by the police. Two of the protesters were arrested by the court afterwards. On February 6, four more people were arrested and two others were placed under house arrest over their participation in Boğaziçi protests in Kadıköy. On the same day, Erdoğan issued a Presidential decree to open two new faculties at the university. In response to this, the Boğaziçi Solidarity platform addressed an open letter to the "12th President of Turkey." A day later, student Beyza Buldağ was taken into custody for allegedly administering the "Boğaziçi Solidarity" Twitter account and arrested for "provoking the public to hatred, enmity and hostility" and "provoking to commit crimes" over both the letter and other Twitter posts. As of February 7, the Boğaziçi Solidarity platform announced that at least 560 students were detained, 25 were sentenced to house arrest and 10 were arrested. Students have been arrested on charges of "degrading or provoking the public to hatred and hostility" and "resisting to prevent fulfilment of duty" as per the Articles 216 and 265 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). CLICK - Why are 11 university students arrested? On February 10, one more student was arrested. With the release of Beyza Buldağ and Muhammed Önal on February 12, there remained nine students arrested over Boğaziçi University protests against the appointed rector. On February 22, two more students were placed under house arrest on the grounds that they distributed the letter of an arrested student to citizens. At their first hearing on March 17, 2021, two students of Boğaziçi University arrested over a picture on display at their campus were released. As of March 22, six people are still behind bars. |
(EKN/EMK/SD)
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