On January 9, 2026, police forcibly intervened and detained dozens of students protesting at Istanbul University against military action by the Syrian transitional government in Kurdish residential areas of Aleppo, Syria. The next day, police arrested four of the students; they were held in pretrial detention for nearly three months.
The January 9th protest began at Beyazıt Campus, where students gathered near the cafeteria with the intention of marching to Beyazıt Square. However, police cordoned off the area around the cafeteria, preventing students from leaving the campus. After the demonstrating students read a statement condemning the violence in Aleppo on campus, another individual made a provocative gesture “Gray Wolf” hand gesture (the Gray Wolves are an ultranationalist youth movement) at the students, provoking a brawl. Police intervened, and temporarily detained dozens of students.
The next day, police charged six of the students with “illegal assembly and march,” “refusal to disperse,” and “public incitement to commit a crime.” Two students were placed under judicial control measures, and four were arrested. The four arrested were held in prison for nearly three months and claimed ill-treatment, including being beaten and experiencing overly crowded living quarters and 24/7 camera surveillance. On March 6, one student began a hunger strike in protest of alleged his torture and ill-treatment. The imprisoned students accused police of surrounding and detaining them at the protest without warning and stated that they had not resisted the police. A court ordered all four students released on March 30 and removed judicial supervision measures against the two other students. The case was temporarily adjourned. At the time of writing, there were no further updates.
Scholars at Risk is concerned about the arrest, prosecution, and alleged ill-treatment of students in retaliation for the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and assembly—conduct that is expressly protected by international human rights instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Turkiye is a party. In addition to the harm to the immediate victim, such incidents have a chilling effect on academic freedom and other related higher education values.
Sources:
https://dusun-think.net/en/news/police-intervention-at-aleppo-protest-in-beyazit/
https://english.anf-news.com/news/police-attack-protest-against-attacks-in-aleppo-at-istanbul-university-83075
https://stockholmcf.org/4-turkish-students-allege-abuse-after-nearly-3-months-in-pretrial-detention-for-protesting-syrian-offensive-in-kurdish-region/
https://www.mlsaturkey.com/tr/beyazit-protestosu-davasinda-4-ogrenciye-tahliye-cezaevinden-iskence-iddiasi