Arrested over Boğaziçi University protests, 2 students released
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Appearing before the judge, students Anıl Akyüz and Şilan Delipalta, who were arrested for joining the protests against Prof. Melih Bulu, the appointed rector of Boğaziçi University, have been released.
In a message shared on the Boğaziçi Solidarity Twitter account, it was announced that the prosecutor demanded the release of Akyüz and Delipalta. The court has ruled for their release afterwards.
Anıl Akyüz and Şilan Delipalta were detained during the Boğaziçi protests in İstanbul's Kadıköy on February 2, 2021 and arrested afterwards.
12 students' judicial control measures lifted
Detained during the Boğaziçi University protests on the same day, 23 people, facing 6 months to 7 years in prison, appeared before the judge for the first time yesterday (April 2). They were facing the charges of "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."
At the hearing held by the İstanbul Anadolu 38th Penal Court of First Instance, the court board ruled that Anıl Akyüz and Şilan Delipalta, who had been arrested for nearly two months, should be released.
While the judicial control measures of 12 defendants in the form of house arrest and giving signatures have been lifted, the court board has imposed an international travel ban on all defendants.
It has also been ruled that the video footage of the day of the incident shall be sent to the related law enforcement authority to find out which police officers faced resistance on that day in Kadıköy.
From defense statements
As reported by Tuğba Özer from daily Cumhuriyet, arrested defendant Anıl Akyüz and Aslı Altınok and Baran Doğan, who were both under house arrest, said the following in their defense statements:
Akyüz: Police hit my head against the sidewalk
"A call for a demonstration was made by students. I wanted to join the demonstration as well. While there was no march in sight, we were intercepted by the law enforcement. The police attacked us without warning. The police detained me by hitting my head against the sidewalk. There was no crime element in my hand or on me. I have been arrested for two months. I have been arbitrarily and politically arrested. I request my release."
Altınok: Their intention is to stop dissidents
"Mustafa Varank said that we produced the local and national electronic bracelet and it would be used for the perpetrators of violence against women as of January 1, 2021. Over 100 electronic bracelets have been used since the beginning of 2021 and they have shown us that their intention is not stopping perpetrators of violence, but stopping the dissidents."
Doğan: There was human excrement
"We were subjected to torture; we were kept waiting in a stuffy bus with our face masks ripped. There was human excrement in the place where they kept us waiting at the police station."
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. On March 22, three people were released. As of April 2, 2021, there remained no people arrested over the protests against the appointed rector of Boğaziçi University. |
(EKN/SD)