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Rights groups, world politicians urge release of student protesters in Turkey

European parliamentarians and rights groups are calling for Turkey to end the detention of two students behind bars for three months for protesting the government-appointed rector of Bogazici University.
A protester rides a motorbike with his dog during a protest against the appointment of new Bogazici University rector Melih Bulu in the Kadikoy district on Feb. 2, 2021 in Istanbul Turkey.

Members of the European Parliament and international and local human rights groups called on Turkey to release two university students who have been behind bars for more than three months for participating in protests against the government-appointed rector of one of Turkey’s top public universities.

The calls come as the protests at Bogazici University, where students and academics have been fighting against the reach of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, mark their first anniversary. Since Jan. 3, 2021, the picturesque campus overlooking the Bosporus has been filled with security guards and iron barriers that have prevented access to the offices of the rector. Nearly a thousand students were detained and about a hundred lost their scholarships for participating in the protests. A dozen academics sympathetic to the student protests were removed from duty. 

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