Ege University Rectorate charged the material damages caused during the operation against students, who were protesting the work disaster in Soma with 301 miners dead, to the students.
The students have occupied the Ege University Foreign Languages building following the mine disaster in Soma on 13 May 2014, 38 students were later taken into custody during the operation conducted with helicopters. Lawsuits were filed against the students taken into custody with the charges of ‘preventing the right to education,’ ‘damaging public property,’ ‘resisting to prevent duty,’ ‘violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations’ and ‘making illegal organization propaganda.’ The rectorate did not wait for the conclusion of the ongoing lawsuit at Izmir 2nd Assize Court; charging the students with a total of 338 thousand TL with the allegation of damaging public property.
Following the lawsuit on behalf of Contemporary Lawyers’ Association, lawyer Gül Kireçkaya stated, “Such a fine was charged against the students without the completion of their proceeding… Tear gas bombs were thrown inside the building by breaking window glasses, doors were broken to catch the students who escaped to the roof. The only thing students did was to write on the wall of the building. Were the security forces sent a notice to pay the charges as well?” The students, on the other hand, asked, “Who will pay for the price of the violence applied to us?”
24.07.2018
bianet.org