Turkish court sentences 4 Boğaziçi University students to jail over protest of appointed rector
An Istanbul court on June 7 sentenced four Boğaziçi University students and acquitted four others in a case concerning their protest of the appointed rector Prof. Dr. Naci İnci. Four students were each given 10 months in jail on the grounds of throwing plastic bottles with paint inside in front of the rectorate building in November 2021. Since the court deferred the sentences, the students will not go to prison unless they commit an offense within the next five years.
Duvar English
An Istanbul court has sentenced four Boğaziçi University students each to 10 months in prison on allegations of throwing plastic bottles with paint inside in front of the rectorate building during a protest on Nov. 12, 2021.
The protest was motivated by a lawsuit launched against 14 other students who had similarly protested the appointment of Prof. Dr. Naci İnci as the rector of the prestigious university.
During the final hearing of the case on June 7, the prosecutor sought from 1 year to 4 years in jail for four of the students in question on charges of “damaging public property,” according to reporting by the Demirören news agency.
Lawyer Veli Bahadır, on the other hand, said that the paint remnants had been removed thinner which is why “there is no damaging of property” and demanded the acquittal of all students.
The Istanbul 60th Penal Court of First Instance sentenced four students each to 10 months in jail and deferred their sentences due to their lack of criminal record, whereas acquitted four other students.