Five students detained at Ankara university rector protest

Turkish police on Sunday 19 September detained five students at Ankara’s Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) for participating in a protest against the government-appointed rector at the prestigious academic institution, reports Ahval News.

Police intervened against the students’ participation in a protest calling for the university’s government-appointed rector, Versan Kök, to not attend their upcoming graduation ceremony, Duvar news site reported. The students were taken into police custody after they refused to show police their ID cards and banners to be used during the demonstration, according to Duvar.

Kök was among 16 rectors appointed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in August of last year. The appointment of a governing party loyalist as rector of Istanbul’s Bogazici University earlier this year sparked months of protests. In the wake of the July 2016 coup attempt, the Turkish used a state of emergency to change the process that selects the rector, giving the power to the Turkish president.
Full report on the Ahval site