While police didn’t disperse the group that had gathered in front of the campus gate and chanted “Takbir, Allahu Akbar” (God is the greatest) and “Beyazıt is ours and it will remain ours,” they briefly detained 26 students who turned out to support their friends, the organizers of the picnic.
The picnic, which was planned by the İstanbul University Equality Society to be held at 4 p.m. on Friday, was canceled due to security concerns, with the Equality Society announcing the development on social media and warning those planning to participate not to be seen in the vicinity in large groups and to leave Beyazıt safely.
The İstanbul Governor’s Office announced the detentions in a written statement, saying that 26 students were detained because those who gathered for the picnic refused to leave the area although police repeatedly warned them that the event they were about to hold was illegal and that they should cancel it.
The Equality Society then released a written statement, saying: “We exist as the students of this university, and we will continue to exist. … We are calling out to those who make us look like we are not legitimate, what’s not legitimate is you, it’s your fascism, your phobias and your attacks.”
