İSTANBUL GOVERNOR’S OFFICE
Boğaziçi protests: 76 of 134 people released from detention
* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)
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The Governor's Office of İstanbul has released a statement about the people who were taken into custody by the police during the Boğaziçi University protests in different districts yesterday (February 2).
The office has announced that 65 of the 94 people detained in Kadıköy have been released from detention. Of the ones who were taken into custody in Beşiktaş and Sarıyer districts, 11 people have been released, while the proceedings of 29 people are reportedly still ongoing.
After labor, peace and democracy forces made a call for protest in İstanbul's Kadıköy district in support of Boğaziçi University students, the police intervened against the group, firing plastic bullets and pepper gas. According to a statement released by the İstanbul Security Directorate in the evening yesterday, 104 people in total were detained in Kadıköy on the Asian side and in Beşiktaş and Sarıyer on the European side of İstanbul.
Total number of detained: 134
The statement of the İstanbul Governor's Office has reminded the public that 10 people "who were taken into custody during the illegal protests at Boğaziçi University on February 1, 2021", have been placed under house arrest by the İstanbul 2nd Penal Judgeship of Peace. The initials of these persons have been announced as follows: (E.D.A), (A.D.A), (M.H), (U.B.Ç), (V.Ç.A), (H.Y), (H.S), (G.T), (R.D), (R.Ö) and (A.Ö).
Referring to the protests at Kadıköy İskele Square yesterday (February 2), the office has said that "a group of protesters who gathered there in the evening hours were informed that any type of gathering which might negatively affect the efforts to curb the spread of the outbreak and protect public health had been banned by the sub-governor's office."
The office has moved on to say that "an intervention was made against the persons who refused to disperse despite all warnings and resisted security forces." It has also argued that "protesters who dispersed to streets and avenues damaged the security vehicles and the environment."
According to the statement of the Governor's Office, 29 of the 94 "suspects" were detained upon the order of the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and 65 persons were released after giving their statements.
"11 suspects who gathered in Beşiktaş and Sarıyer to join this protest and resisted despite all warnings were detained upon the instruction of the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and they were released after administrative sanctions were imposed on them," the statement has read further, adding that the proceedings of 29 detained "suspects" are still ongoing.
What happened?Prof. Melih Bulu has been appointed as the President of Boğaziçi University in a Presidential Decree issued on January 1. The appointment of Bulu has 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 have been campaigning on social media under the hashtag #kayyımrektöristemiyoruz (We don't want a trustee university president). 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 has 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. 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. 104 people were taken into custody by the police. 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)