Nine Bosphorus students detained following targeting by Erdoğan

Fifteen of the sixteen students who were arrested charged with protesting on 19 March at Bosphorus University against students who opened a stand and distributed Turkish delight in commemoration of soldiers who fell in Afrin were taken to Istanbul Judicial Complex in Çağlayan yesterday. Following President Erdoğan’s words, “We will not give them the right to study” in reaction to the protesting students, the students were brought before the court with their detention sought following completion of their procedures at the police under a case filed by the Istanbul Republic Chief Prosecution Terrorism and Organised Crime Bureau. The court ordered the detention of nine of the students, while it ordered the conditional release of six of them. The names of the detained students are: Şükran Yaren Tuncer, Zülküf İbrahim Erkul, Esen Deniz Üstündağ, Sevde Öztürk, Kübra Sağır, Berke Aydoğan, Deniz Yılmaz, Agah Suat Atay and Yusuf Noyan Öztürk.

In the letter accompanying the application for detention drafted to the Duty Penal Judgeship of the Peace by Istanbul Republic Chief Prosecution Terrorism and Organised Crime Bureau, it was argued that the operation being staged in the Afrin area by the Turkish Armed Forces was being conducted to bring about peace and included the claim, “The suspects acted in line with the general attitude and strategy of the PKK/KCK/YPH Armed Terrorist Organisation.”

In the letter accompanying the application, which argued that the students portrayed the Turkish Armed Forces, which were exercising their authority arising under international law, as an illegitimate force, included the comments: “They are aiming to portray to international public opinion the terrorist organisations in the region as not using force, violence and threat and as being innocent. With the suspects attempting to legitimise the terrorist organisation with which they have organic ties, robbing both the State of the Republic of Turkey and the Turkish Armed Forces of prestige and creating adverse international public opinion creates chaos in society in line with the terrorist organisations’ aim. They have been ascertained to have made terrorist organisation propaganda.”

Families ask the university to take a stand

The students’ families staged a protest in front of the Istanbul Judicial Complex in Çağlayan. Mustafa Kök, father of one of the students who was arrested, said, “Our request of the university in the ensuing process will be for it to stand by our children, those who are currently at the school and those who are under arrest.” Another student’s parent said, “Our children did what was called for under freedom of expression and thought.” 

Erdoğan'ın hedef göstermesinin ardından gözaltına alınan Boğaziçili öğrencilerden 9'u tutuklandı