Rectorate demolishes Boğaziçi University’s dog shelter, invites police to detain volunteers

Duvar English

Boğaziçi University Rectorate destroyed the dog shelter on the campus on March 26 on the grounds that it was close to the martyrs’ cemetery and dervish lodge upon the instructions of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Dozens of police battered small numbers of volunteers who tried to stop the demolition and relocation of dogs to an unsafe space.

While the dogs are transferred to a new location on the campus without the help of volunteers who have been taking care of them for the past 20 years, the new area has been protected by private security guards to stop volunteers. 

Even though the university administration does not allow volunteers to enter the new space to take care of the dogs, one of them is able to take pictures. In the pictures, dogs are seen to be kept in small cages without the appropriate care.

On the other hand, university's trustee administration released a press statement and claimed that the dogs have not been cared for properly by the volunteers. The rectorate said they filed a criminal complaint against the volunteers. 

In 2021, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appointed Naci İnci as the rector of the prestigious Boğaziçi University despite the academics rejection. He has dismissed several dissident academicians and allowed police to enter the university campus multiple times to detain students protesting against him. 

Academics and students have been continuing with their protest against Erdoğan's appointments for more than two years.