Hundreds of students at Boğazici University took to the streets again on Wednesday to march against the newly appointed university rector, handpicked by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the position. Protesters described the appointment of Melih Bulu as undemocratic, accusing President Erdoğan of undermining principles of academic freedom.
Turkish police arrested fourteen protesters in the demonstrations over three days. Soon, the number of detainees rose to forty. Security forces on Tuesday began arresting protesters and carrying out raids on students’ homes. Students and parents in the homes were subjected to violence. In the raids, students reported that the violence was such that even their parents were hospitalized. Many students were subjected to being reverse handcuffed before being detained, subjected to naked searches and torture.
Twenty four students detained in the protests against the appointed rector were released under judicial control. The students stated that they will continue their struggle against the appointment of the rector.