A student facing charges for allegedly participating in protests following the March arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has testified in court that Boğaziçi University revoked her and four others‘ admissions to graduate programs, the TR724 news website reported.
Pelin Gümüşdağ, 23, said during a Thursday hearing in Istanbul that she had been accepted to the university’s master’s program in history but was later removed from the admissions list by Rector Naci İnci.
Gümüşdağ was among more than 100 mostly young defendants appearing in court this week, accused of participating in unauthorized demonstrations, resisting police orders and joining protests deemed unlawful by authorities. She was detained on March 26 when police raided her home following demonstrations that erupted after Imamoğlu was taken into custody on March 19 and arrested days later on corruption charges. His arrest sparked Turkey’s worst protests in decades.
The 54-year-old, who is the biggest political rival to longtime President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was nominated by the Republican People’s Party (CHP) as its presidential candidate shortly after his arrest.
İmamoğlu, who faces multiple investigations including separate claims of corruption and ties to terrorism, has been sentenced to two prison terms, including one for allegedly insulting a public prosecutor. Both sentences are under appeal, but opposition leaders claim the charges are politically motivated.
“This year I graduated first in my department. My admission was published on the department’s website, but the rector arbitrarily annulled it,” Gümüşdağ told the court.
Gümüşdağ said four other students also learned that their graduate admissions had been canceled. “This is unlawful. They are violating our right to education,” she said.
Boğaziçi University has been the focus of student and faculty protests since January 2021, when President Erdoğan appointed a rector from outside the university, Melih Bulu, breaking with the school’s tradition of electing its own leadership. After Bulu’s dismissal, his deputy Naci İnci was appointed despite opposition from students and academics, fueling further demonstrations and crackdowns on dissent.
More than 500 people linked to CHP or the İstanbul Municipality have been detained or arrested since March.
Among them are 14 CHP mayors, including İmamoğlu, who was also suspended from office.
The party and its supporters say the operations targeting the CHP are designed to neutralize elected officials and sideline opposition leaders after the party’s gains in the March 2024 local elections.
International human rights groups and lawmakers in Europe have raised concerns over the rule of law in Turkey, warning that the mass detentions and legal pressures could further erode democratic norms. Marmara Prison in Silivri, where many opposition figures, including İmamoğlu, are being held, has become a symbol of the country’s deepening political tensions.
