Büşra Genel
Dozens of students at Hacettepe University in Ankara were detained—some allegedly tortured—after protesting a new reservation-based cafeteria system introduced by the university administration, which students say imposes unfair costs and restrictions on their right to food and protest.
The protest erupted after the university’s trustee-appointed rector implemented a policy on Oct. 8 requiring students to reserve meals in advance or pay an extra TL 10 ($0.35 USD). Under the new rule, students who do not book a meal in advance must pay TL 50 instead of TL 40, and are only offered one-tenth of a normal portion. In response, students occupied the cafeteria, saying they were defending both their right to food and their right to protest.
According to student groups and rights organizations, 38 students were taken into custody during the demonstration, and many reported being subjected to torture or ill-treatment by police.
LGBT+ students, who had gathered in front of the university’s Faculty of Letters to protest the government’s controversial 11th Judicial Reform Package, later joined the cafeteria demonstration. They, too, faced heavy-handed police intervention.
Following their detention, some of the 38 students were released throughout the night. Eight students were referred to Ankara’s Sıhhiye Courthouse to give statements and were subsequently released. In a statement outside the courthouse, the freed students and their supporters called on all students to unite in defense of their rights to food and protest.
Two students remain under medical observation in the hospital after reportedly suffering head trauma caused by police during the arrests, according to a statement from the Legal Commission of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) Youth Branch.
The controversy began after the Hacettepe University administration—one of Turkey’s leading public universities—announced that as of Oct. 8, meals at student cafeterias would require advance reservation. Students and staff who failed to reserve meals would not only pay more but also receive drastically reduced portions. Despite meeting with the university administration, student representatives said their concerns were not addressed and vowed to continue their protests.
