Academic faces prison for likening universities to ‘brothels’

It was reported by BirGün newspaper that a Turkish prosecutor has called for a jail sentence of up to one year for an academic on charges of “degrading a segment [of] the public” following his remarks labelling the country’s universities as “brothels”, reports Ahval News.

Professor Ebubekir Sofuoglu, an instructor in the history department of Sakarya University, sparked public outrage over his remarks on a television programme in December, when he blasted Generation Z over their values and dismissed universities attended by the group. “They are all almost like brothels,” Sofuoglu said, with “no exceptions”, referring to higher education institutions of Turkey today, while stressing the failure of the universities to contribute to the cities in which they are located.

The professor will be tried as part of an investigation into the comments, led by Istanbul’s Kücükcekmece Chief Public Prosecutor’s office, over violating Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code, BirGün said.
Full report on the Ahval News site