On February 13, 2026, Turkish police arrested Boğaziçi University (BU) students Ayşe Cebecioğlu and Sude Şener for peacefully protesting a visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to campus.
The arrests took place in the context of intensified security on campus ahead of the opening ceremony for new dormitories, located on BU’s North Campus, which Erdoğan was scheduled to attend on February 13. On February 12, BU’s adminstration announced that access to campus would be restricted the following day and classes would be held online. The university also notified students staying at the new dorms that they would be required to vacate the building between 8-10am on February 13, leaving their rooms unlocked, to allow for security checks. On the day of the ceremony, riot police were deployed around campus and campus entrances were barricaded.
On the day of the ceremony, students gathered on North Campus to peacefully protest Erdoğan’s visit and the security measures taken. Police arrested Ayşe Cebecioğlu and Sude Şener for holding a banner that read “Get out, one-man rule, from our university.” They were transferred to a local police station and released the following day on probation and with bans against traveling abroad.
Scholars at Risk is concerned about the arrest and detention of two students in apparent retaliation for the peaceful exercise of their 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 Türkiye is a party. In addition to the harm to the immediate victim, such incidents have a chilling effect on academic freedom and undermine democratic society generally.
Sources:
https://spotturkey.co.uk/students-who-protested-erdogan-were-arrested/