The new US administration is concerned by the treatment of student protesters in Turkey and condemns the anti-LGBT rhetoric sparked by the ongoing demonstrations, the State Department said on Wednesday.
Students at Istanbul’s Bogazici University have been protesting since last month, when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appointed a loyalist with links to his ruling Justice and Development Party to serve as the prestigious university’s rector. The clashes with police escalated last week after protesters hung a poster on the campus that depicted the holy Kaaba building in Mecca with rainbow flags.