Turkish students detained as Bogazici protests intensify
Police forces prevented demonstrations Monday, detaining several protestors attempting to rally against the recent arrests of Bogazici University students over a poster deemed insulting of religious values.
ISTANBUL — Police barricades and security forces in riot gear lined the streets Feb. 1 near the main entrance of Istanbul’s Bogazici University, where at least one sniper unit monitored the activity below.
The security presence was deployed in response to expected student protests Monday afternoon over the arrests of several Bogazici students this weekend for displaying a poster deemed insulting of religious values.
Planned demonstrations were mostly prevented as dozens of students arriving from other schools in a show of support were detained or turned away by police. The handful of demonstrators that passed the barriers and checkpoints staged a brief protest before police forces swiftly closed in and detained at least three of them.
The scenes were the latest episode in the nearly monthlong protests sparked by the appointment of a government-affiliated rector to head Bogazici University, one of Turkey’s top educational institutions.
