21-year-old Turkish student dies by suicide in university cafeteria

A 21-year-old university student dying by suicide in a cafeteria on the Eskişehir Anadolu University campus sparked outrage on social media as youth organizations said it was due to economic problems. However, the prosecutor's office argued that the student "clearly stated in their note that they did not commit suicide for economic reasons."

Monday October 16 2023 06:23 pm

Duvar English

A 21-year-old student at Central Anatolian Eskişehir Anadolu University on Oct. 15 died by suicide in a campus cafeteria.

The incident was revealed when another student found the deceased student on the upper floor of the dining hall and informed the authorities.

Various youth organizations stated that the student killed themself due to economic problems and left behind a note explaining this situation.

📢 #AnadoluÜniversitesi'nde sıra arkadaşımız R.A borçları yüzünden yaşamına son verdi!

Bizi insanlık dışı koşullara mahkum edenlerle, gençliğimizi çalanlarla, geleceğimizi karartanlarla tek tek hesaplaşacağız.

Enes'ten Sibel'e bizden ayırdığınız herkes için yargılanacaksınız! https://t.co/m3BFcgLpdx pic.twitter.com/5X1Km6mSZb
— Üniversiteli Dayanışma Ağı (@UniversiteliAgi) October 15, 2023

Nonetheless, the Eskişehir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office claimed that the deceased student "clearly stated in the note that their death was not related to his economic situation."

In a brief statement released by the university where the student was enrolled, the use of the term "unfortunate incident" instead of referring to the student's suicide has also garnered criticism.

pic.twitter.com/A9abn55rcU
— Anadolu Üniversitesi (@Anadolu_Univ) October 15, 2023

The students on Oct. 16 organized a protest at the university to draw attention to the increasing suicide rate among young people.

"Bir kişi daha eksilmeyeceğiz."

Dün Eskişehir Anadolu Üniversitesi yemekhanesine intihar eden sıra arkadaşımız Resul Alan için basın açıklamasındayız.

Resul'un adını kampüslerde haykırmaya, bu sesi her yere yaymaya devam edeceğiz! pic.twitter.com/fVpTxz390q
— Gençlik Komiteleri (@komiteler) October 16, 2023

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) lawmaker Ayça Taşkent previously stated that the number of people who died by suicide between 2002 and 2022 reached 65,545 and pointed out that nearly 6,000 of them were due to economic reasons. Taşkent stated that the age group that died by suicide the most was young people between the ages of 20-24.