Four students were arrested and 22 others were released after police used excessive force to disperse a recent student protest in Ankara against the detention and subsequent arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main political rival, the ANKA news agency reported Monday.
The protest, organized by students from Bilkent, Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ), Ankara University, Gazi University, TED University and Hacettepe University, was planned to start at Konur Street and proceed to the justice ministry under the slogan “Youth is standing up for its future.”
Police declared the march unlawful and blocked the demonstrators, later using force to break up the gathering.
Thirty people were initially detained on April 25, including lawyer Ekin Öztürk Yılmaz, a member of the Progressive Lawyers’ Association (ÇHD), and Havva Gümüşkaya, a reporter for the left-wing BirGün newspaper. Four people were released shortly after their detention, while 26 students were ordered to remain in custody to await legal proceedings. They were taken to a hospital for medical checks before being taken to court.
According to ANKA, 22 students were released, seven were put under judicial supervision and four were arrested after giving statements to the prosecutor. They face charges of violating the law on meetings and demonstrations.
The Ankara Governor’s Office defended the police action, but witnesses and rights groups condemned what they described as disproportionate tactics.
The crackdown in Ankara comes amid a broader wave of unrest and heavy-handed policing in Turkey following the detention of İmamoğlu on March 19 and his subsequent arrest three days later.
Rights organizations have repeatedly warned that Turkey’s shrinking space for dissent is accelerating as authorities deploy increasingly aggressive tactics against peaceful demonstrators.