Turkey’s prominent Hacettepe University in Ankara has launched investigations into students who participated in protests that started in April, the BirGün daily reported.
The university administration has issued a notice warning that students who took part in the May 1 Labor Day demonstrations or the April 25 protests against the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu would be investigated and may face disciplinary action.
Students were accused of “disturbing the peace,” “clashing with university security staff” and “damaging the automatic door of the law faculty, which now opens but no longer closes.”
İmamoğlu, widely seen as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s strongest political rival, was arrested on March 23 on corruption charges, which many critics view as politically motivated. His detention on March 19 had ignited widespread protests, the largest in Turkey since 2013, escalating political tensions.
Police were quick to crack down, using tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon to disperse the protesters who took to the streets defying protest bans in İstanbul, Ankara and İzmir. Police detained nearly 2,000 people, many during pre-dawn operations.
Students also took to the streets in large numbers and have called for a boycott of classes and examinations, which has been supported by unions, prominent figures in society and opposition politicians.
Turkish authorities arrested at least 300 students during the street protests, with most of the young protesters charged with “violating Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations” and prosecutors are seeking up to three years in prison.
Moreover, some students involved in the protests were evicted from dormitories managed by the Turkish Higher Education Credit and Hostels Institution (KYK).
