Turkish Police Detains 97 Students During Campus Protest Against Speaker Supporting Child Marriage
- Endangered Scholars Worldwide
- May 20
- 3 min read
Riot police surrounding protesting students in Boğaziçi University's North Campus, Istanbul. Photo credit: Bianet
On May 13, 2025, 97 Boğaziçi University students were detained by riot police for protesting an event which was being held in the North Campus of the university. Of the detained students, 82 were let go after giving statements, 9 were released on probation, and 6 were arrested on charges of “resisting to prevent the fulfilment of duty”. One of the arrested students was later released following an appeal. With these arrests, the number of Boğaziçi University students currently under arrest for protesting has increased to 9.
This is the latest event in the protest cycle that started on March 19 with the arrest of leading opposition figure and Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. The Middle East Studies Association has recently published a letter condemning a series of actions taken by the Turkish government in reaction to these protests. Since İmamoğlu’s arrest, students from universities across Turkey have been mobilizing in protests but facing repression by the Turkish state. One of those universities is Boğaziçi University, which has become a hub of resistance since January 2021 when the Turkish government launched its takeover attempt by appointing an AKP-loyalist rector to the institution.
The protest on May 13 was directed against an on-campus event organized by the Boğaziçi University Islamic Studies’ Club (BİSAK) in which Nureddin Yıldız, an outspoken supporter of child marriages, was invited. Earlier in 2015, Yıldız appeared on television, arguing that in Islamic law, “there is no age condition for marriage”, and that 6- and 7-year-olds are eligible for marriage. The students, in their protest, voiced their objection to governmental infringement on their institution, the promotion and legitimation of male violence, sharia and fascism. The protest was initially blocked by campus security and police. Eventually, the students were surrounded by riot police before being violently beaten and detained. According to Boğaziçi TV, a voluntaristic journalism initiative lead by students and alumni, some students reported that they were injured during the police intervention but were blocked by police from getting it reported at the hospital they were taken to. Boğaziçi University administration announced that protesting students would be subjected to disciplinary action.
On the day of the protest, the Boğaziçi University Student Representation Council released a statement saying that BİSAK’s event had not gone through the necessary procedures for holding an event, which requires student clubs to submit an event for approval by the clubs represented at the Inter-Club Council. Undersigned by 48 student clubs, the statement stressed that the bypassing of the Inter-Club Council is a violation of school policy and the decades-long tradition of inclusive democratic governance for student events. A statement by university professors dated May 16, shared by Zeynep Uysal, a professor in the Turkish Language and Literature Department, also noted this procedural violation. The professors added that the appointed rector is weaponizing his position by allowing this “unscientific event” to be carried out while banning numerous other student events. Furthermore, the professors’ statement emphasized that a group of Islamist counter-protestors were allowed to throw stones at student protestors and damage school property right outside of the school.
Academic freedom in Turkey is among the worst in the world. According to the Academic Freedom Index, all components of academic freedom from institutional autonomy to freedom to teach, research and exchange have drastically deteriorated in the last two decades. (Read more here.)
Endangered Scholars Worldwide (ESW) condemns the violence and repression of free expression, academic freedom, and democratic governance of universities. We call on the Turkish government to roll back measures that restrict academic freedom and cease repressive policing actions towards university students. We invite members of the global community dedicated to upholding academic freedom to join our call.
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