'Rights violations during Boğaziçi University protests emblematic of gov't style'
Turkey's Human Rights Foundation (THİV) said that the state's violation of Boğaziçi University protesters' rights was emblematic of the style of governance. "This governance style based on oppression and control, and even nudity violence, is also sustained by polarization and antagonization policies," the foundation noted.
Duvar English
The violation of rights by the current government is not limited to the protests against the president's rector appointment to Boğaziçi University, Turkey's Human Rights Foundation (TİHV) reported in a survey of the demonstrations.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's appointment of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) member Melih Bulu as Boğaziçi rector is lawful, but its legality and legitimacy are questionable, the report noted.
The AKP's alliance regime with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has solidified restrictions implemented under the state of emergency after the failed coup attempt of July 15, 2015, TİHV noted.
"The gradual violation of freedoms and autonomy by the government has not been confined to the academic field. In fact, the new regime is attempting to dominate public life by implementing controls and restrictions all around," the report said.
The government aims to minimize political participation and civilian activism, which leads to the destruction of a public's democratic existence and facilitates the reckless violation of rights at all times, the foundation said.
"This governance style based on oppression and control, and even nudity violence, is also sustained by polarization and antagonization policies," the foundation noted, adding that this practice also allows the state to openly target individuals or groups within society.
"Not surprisingly, this style of governance was apparent in the intolerance shown against the rightful and democratic protest against the president's rector appointment."
At least 801 people were detained during their detention by law enforcement during the Boğaziçi protests, the report noted, while 228 people were placed on probation.
Arrests, home arrests, and probation were used as tools to punish individuals, rather than as precautionary measures, the report added.
Freedom of expression and the freedom of the press were violated by the state during the protests, and at least six journalists were injured, TİHV added.