On May 21, 2025, members of a far-right, nationalist group assaulted members of a student group while they were hanging flyers at the Hacettepe University’s Beytepe campus.
The students were organizing a “Freedom March” on May 23 to demonstrate against the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. An assailant wearing brass knuckles seriously injured a female student.
The assault prompted a clash between the two groups. Police entered the campus to prevent further escalation and facilitated the right-wing group to leave the campus.
Scholars at Risk is concerned about violent attacks against students on campus. State authorities should take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of scholars, students, and staff, including by investigating and holding perpetrators accountable, in line with international human rights standards. In addition to the harm to the immediate victims, violence on campus undermines the conditions needed for the meaningful exercise of the right to education and academic freedom.
Sources:
*SAR identified this incident in data made publicly available by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
https://bianet.org/haber/hacettepe-universitesi-ogrencilerine-saldiri-307659
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/554565/hacettepe-universitesinde-fasistler-ogrencilere-saldirdi
https://www.odatv.com/guncel/hacettepe-universitesi-ogrencilerine-saldiri-120099391