"Release Beyza Buldağ" (Source: Twitter)
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Beyza Buldağ, a student of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University (MSGSÜ) Cinema and Television department, has been arrested as part of the investigation launched into the protests against the appointment of Prof. Melih Bulu as the new rector of Boğaziçi University.
With the arrest of Buldağ, the number of people arrested for joining and supporting the Boğaziçi University protests has increased to nine.
Buldağ detained in İzmir, taken to İstanbul
Beyza Buldağ was taken into custody in a police raid on her house in Buca, İzmir yesterday. Her phone and computer were seized.
Buldağ, who was previously a student of Boğaziçi University, but is now continuing her education at the MSGSÜ, was first taken to the Şirinyer Police Station in Buca. While Buldağ would reportedly be referred to the İstanbul Security Directorate in Fatih district, she was taken to the İstanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan to give her statement at the prosecutor's office.
Charges
During her interrogation by the prosecutor, it was alleged that Beyza Buldağ was administering the Twitter account of the "Boğaziçi Solidarity" platform (@boundayanisma), which has recently addressed an open letter to the "12th President of Turkey" amid the protests.
Accordingly, Buldağ was accused of "insulting the President" over this open letter addressed to ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Buldağ was also charged with "provoking the public to enmity, hatred and hostility" and "provoking to commit crimes" over other posts shared by the account.
Prosecutor demanded her arrest
After she gave her statement at the prosecutor's office, the office referred Beyza Buldağ to court, requesting her arrest for "provoking the public to enmity, hatred and hostility" and "provoking to commit crimes."
Testifying before the İstanbul 7th Penal Judgeship of Peace, Buldağ has been arrested on the offenses charged.
Statement by İstanbul Governor's Office
The Governor's Office of İstanbul has also released a written statement about the issue on its official website. The statement has indicated that "as part of their efforts about the 'provocative Twitter posts' upon the instructions of the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the teams of İstanbul Security Directorate's Security Branch identified that the person named B.B. was using the @boundayanisma account."
The office has announced that "the person was caught in İzmir and has been arrested as per the Article 214 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK)."
Calls for her release on social media
After Beyza Buldağ was arrested, several social media users have been tweeting for her release under the hashtag #BeyzayıSerbestBırakın.
Selo, Anıl, Şilan, Ömer, Doğu, Akın, Murat Can, Necmettin ve #BeyzayıSerbestBırakın!
— nazimdikbas (@nazimdikbas) February 7, 2021
Kayyum, ayrıl. pic.twitter.com/V4YIjiQkGy
Academic Nazım Dikbaş has tweeted, "Release Selo, Anıl, Şilan, Ömer, Doğu, Akın, Murat Can, Necmettin and Beyza! Trustee, leave."
Okulumuzun sinema televizyon bölümü öğrencisi, sıra arkadaşımız Beyza'yı sırf öğrencileri korkutmak ve baskılamak için tutukladığınızı biliyoruz. Tüm arkadaşlarımız serbest bırakılmadan susmayacağız, durmayacağız. Siz de bunu bilin.#BeyzayıSerbestBırakın pic.twitter.com/mFQtWmUrYe
— MSGSÜ Öğrencileri (@msgsudayanisma1) February 7, 2021
The MSGSÜ students have also tweeted a message, saying, "We know that you have arrested Beyza with the sole aim of frightening and pressuring students." They have added, "We will not stay silent, we will not stop until you release all of our friends. You need to know this."
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 10 a.m. on February 8, nine people in total were arrested for supporting or joining the protets against the appointed rector of Boğaziçi University. About Melih BuluProf. Melih Bulu was appointed as the President of Haliç University on January 17, 2020. In office in this foundation university for less than a year, he has been appointed as the President of Boğaziçi University. He was a Dean and University President at the İstinye University from 2016 to 2019. Between the years of 2010 and 2016, he was the Head of the Business Management Department of İstanbul Şehir University's Business Management and Management Science Faculty. He was the General Coordinator of International Competitiveness Research Institute (URAK), an NGO working on economic competitiveness of cities and countries, from the year 2017 to 2019. Since 2011, he has been the Executive Board member of the İstanbul Electric-Electronic Machinery and Informatics Exporters R&D Market. In 2002, he founded the Sarıyer District Organization of the ruling AKP in İstanbul. In 2015, he was a candidate for nomination to run in the Parliamentary elections from the AKP in the first election district in İstanbul. He studied Industrial Engineering at the Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara in 1992. He did his MBA and PhD at Boğaziçi University's Department of Management. |
(TP/SD)