10/07/2025 | Writer: Oğulcan Özgenç
On May 29, a lawsuit was filed against students who gathered to commemorate the Gezi Resistance. The fact that 5 students carried the LGBTİ+ flag was cited as the reason for the lawsuit.
Photo: ANKA
A lawsuit was filed against 23 people who gathered on May 29 at the campus of Istanbul University to commemorate the Gezi Resistance, on the grounds of “violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations.”
In the indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the participation of 5 individuals carrying the LGBTI+ flag was cited as the reason for the lawsuit. The LGBTI+ flags held by the students who wanted to make a press statement were targeted by being called “so-called banners with LGBTI+ colors.”
The prosecution also included in the indictment the banners carried by the students that read “Women and LGBTI+ Commission - IÜ Student Council” and “Istanbul University Student Council.”
The slogans “Jin Jiyan Azadi”, “Everywhere is Taksim, Everywhere is Resistance” and “Beyazıt Will Be a Grave for Fascism” were also included in the accusations.
In the indictment, the prosecution demanded the punishment of the 23 people on trial and that they be deprived of some rights.
The first hearing of the case will be held on December 10, 2025 at the Istanbul 31st Criminal Court of First Instance.
What had happened?
During the 12th anniversary commemoration of the Gezi Resistance held at the Central Courtyard of the Faculty of Letters at Istanbul University, a group attacked the students. After the attack, more than 20 students who were holding the Gezi commemoration were detained by plainclothes police at the Vezneciler metro station.
Friends of the detained students made a statement in front of the courthouse at the time of transfer, saying the following:
“We will not refrain from defending these campuses, from liberating them again. We are not only defending today, but also the future. We are a generation that wants to build an alternative life against poverty, insecurity and injustice. We no longer want to live like this. In a place where everything has been taken from us, where we have no life security, we have nothing left to lose. We are determined to fight until the end. If a crime is to be mentioned today, that crime is the detention of the students who commemorated Gezi. The crime is targeting young people instead of protecting the campuses from fascist groups, not from students. The crime is the attempt to seize the university with police, private security and repression.”
Tags: human rights
