Several people were arrested again yesterday during protests by students at Bogazici University in Istanbul. 159 participants were arrested because they „had not stopped the demonstrations in front of the university despite warnings,“ said the Istanbul governor’s office. The protests are directed against the appointment of the new director Melih Bulu by President Tayyip Erdogan.
Bulu is the first head of the renowned university who was not appointed internally but was appointed by the Turkish President. Erdogan has been trying to expand his influence on universities since a military coup in 1980. The protesters also called for the release of four students who had previously been detained for a picture showing the Muslim shrine Kabaa with LGBT symbols.
On the campus, which is only accessible to students, there was scramble with security guards, as can be seen on videos. The police cordoned off a large area around the university and, according to them, prevented the students from leaving the campus and reading out a press release.
