democratic checks

70 Thousand Students Arrested in Turkey

The big arrest waves of students started with the Gezi protests in 2013, following with the 17-25 corruption scandals in 2013 and has now reached its peak with the July 15th failed coup attempt. Police and gendarmerie are strictly controlling young people. Students who use the right of objection and protest are immediately taken to and later arrested by the magistrates’ courts.

According to the Ministry of Justice’s response to the motion made by CHP MP Gamze Akkuş İlgezdi, 69 thousand 301 students remain arrested since September 2017. Most of these arrests are arbitrary and does not have any substantial support. For instance, some students at the Adnan Menderes University were arrested for performing traditional Kurdish dances. Students arrested with decree-laws are taken away their right to study, read books and take exams.

Sources:
http://aktifhaber.com/egitim/turkiyede-70-bin-tutuklu-ogrenci-var-h111058.html
http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/egitim/856384/70_bin_ogrenci_hapiste.html

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Turkey: Media, Activists, Political Opposition Targeted

Turkey increased restrictions on the media, political opposition, and human rights defenders during 2017, on the back of a very narrow referendum, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2018. Turkey also introduced a presidential system with insufficient democratic checks and balances against the president’s abuse of power. “Everywhere you look, checks and balances that protect human rights and rule of law in Turkey are being eroded” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. Under the state of emergency, the government has failed to provide redress for the over 100,000 civil servants dismissed, as well as hundreds of media outlets, associations, and other institutions closed down.

Source: https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/01/18/turkey-media-activists-political-opposition-targeted

Report: https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/turkey

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