A new campaign against the appointed rectors of Turkey,  as well as the house arrest and imprisonment of students started on the 50th day of the Boğaziçi Protests by various university and student solidarity groups. Students started protesting under the social media hashtag,  #BundanSonrasıHepimize (#ItsUpToAllofUsNow) and said “Universities are ours, the future is ours. Appointed rectors will go, universities will be liberated by us!” in a press conference in Istanbul. You can access the recording of the press conference here in Turkish.

During the press conference, students said “We do not want the police, who beat  protesting workers and built barricades against women marching on March 8, in our campuses. We want democratic universities where the components of the university are part of the authority and decision making processes and we want to live freely there.” Nearly 600 of the students were detained, more than 20 of them are under house arrest and 9 of them are still under arrest.  

Today, two students, Cihan and Doğukan, were sent to the court for arrest for sharing the letter of their arrested friend, Şilan Delipalta. University Solidarities stated that they will show solidarity for Cihan and Doğukan.

Solidarities, stating that universities will begin to open on March 1, said that the education rights of their arrested friends were violated, and asked them to be released. Students have been detained since the dates indicated below:

January 30: Selahattin Can Uğuzeş and Doğu Demirtaş
February 5: Şilan Delipalta and Anıl Akyüz
February 6: Necmettin Erdem, Akın Karakuş, Ömer Şengel and Murat Can Demirci
February 10: Hasan Koral Hacıbeyoğlu

The Student Union’s petition continues for the release of friends who were arrested during the Boğaziçi protests. You can click here to access the signature campaign.