Two members of the Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP) were jailed for "threat" after hanging a banner calling for National Education Minister Yusuf Tekin to resign.
Nevin Tekin and Nehir Dizdar, members of the party's student branch, had hung the banner on the fences of Kadıköy High School in İstanbul, where the minister was scheduled to visit.
The banner read, “If there is no future for us, there will be no peace for you. Yusuf Tekin, resign.”
The students, aged 19 and 20, were taken into custody during late-night raids on their homes and spent the night in detention, TİP deputy Sera Kadıgil said.
After police procedures were completed, the students were sent to a courthouse today. Kadıgil said court records showed that the prosecutor sought their arrest without first taking their statements.
A penal judgeship of peace ordered the students jailed on the grounds that they had “threatened" the minister.
Kadıgil shared the relevant section of the judge's decision, noting that the students had been jailed solely because of the banner.
“There's no need to beat around the bush. This is called fascism," she wrotre.
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The Education and Science Workers' Union (Eğitim Sen) also criticized the arrests, saying freedom of expression and the right to peaceful protest are constitutionally protected.
The union said students have the right to criticize education policies and express their opposition through democratic means, adding that peaceful protest cannot be treated as a crime. (NÖ/VK)
