Raising funds for legal battles at Boğaziçi

This campaign aims to raise funds to cover the costs of 25 legal cases to be filed by academics working at Turkey’s prestigious Bogazici University to protect the institution’s autonomy, academic integrity, and their employment rights.

In the past two years, Bogazici University has suffered attacks from the top echelons of power aiming to destroy its strong tradition of independent academic research, progressive education and liberal culture. These include the appointment of unqualified government loyalists to senior administrative and academic posts, firing and intimidation of staff who are vocal against the appointments, and suppression of student dissent.

So far, Bogazici academics have filed almost 100 legal cases against university management, President Erdogan, and the Turkish Higher Education Council. They need our solidarity to protect the country's last vestige of independent top-quality research and teaching.

Please continue to read for details.

What is happening at Bogazici University?

On January 1, 2021, President Erdogan appointed a fellow party member Melih Bulu as the Rector (Vice Chancellor) without any consultation with the staff of the university. A month after his appointment, by means of an overnight presidential degree, two new faculties were founded, creating new posts to fill with party affiliates. Students, academics, and alumni have organized mass protests against Bulu’s appointment and the political intrusion, demanding respect for the institutional integrity of universities. Although Erdogan has since replaced Bulu with one of Bulu’s subordinates, Naci Inci, relentless attacks on the university have continued:

The pro-Erdogan university administration has inflicted serious damage on many areas of the university, including its democratic and bottom-up governance structures, academic quality and freedom, and campus life. By appointing politically affiliated and unqualified academics from outside Bogazici University, preventing elected members from taking their administrative posts, and removing elected deans based on fabricated accusations, the rector has been able to capture and control the university executive council and senate. This enabled them to impose top-down and often politically motivated decisions on the university. These decisions have seriously undermined both the quality and the autonomy of Bogazici University, as they have not been endorsed by either the departments or faculties of the university. The arbitrary dismissal of faculty members, class cancellations and irregular intrusions into departmental programs have further damaged the academic environment. In addition, the new administration has taken excessive surveillance measures affecting both staff and students on and off campus which has threatened freedom of expression and the quality of campus life. Hundreds of students who protested these developments were taken into custody, and some subsequently spent months in jail. Student activities, panels, lectures, and film screenings have been censored and canceled. In particular, LGBTQ+ students have been systematically targeted. In addition, more than a hundred alumni were banned from entering the campus because they too participated in the protests. Last but not least, campus buildings, housing, dorms and other facilities have been confiscated and re-appropriated without any deliberation, arousing suspicions that real estate speculation schemes are driving decisions at the university.

Below is a selection of solidarity statements issued by international academic institutions condemning these destructive decisions and actions:

Additionally, 40 academic institutions and more than a thousand international academics signed a declaration of support, including renowned academics Noam Chomsky, Judith Butler, Étienne Balibar, David Harvey, Michel Hardt, and Seyla Benhabib:

Legal measures taken by academics

One of the tools academics have employed in their ongoing resistance has been initiating legal actions. Although the legal system in Turkey is not highly trusted, and political interference in legal decision-making has become the norm, legal proceedings are still valuable tools for several reasons. Firstly, opening cases against the unlawful actions of the university management and the Turkish Higher Education Council slows down their destructive actions. Second, it is possible to bring cases to the courts of the European Union when domestic legal options are exhausted. Third, successful results have recently been obtained in some of the cases, such as the reinstatement of unfairly dismissed faculty members. Last but not least, it prepares the ground for retribution when the government changes hands through democratic means, which is likely to happen in the upcoming elections in 2023.

So far, Bogazici academics have filed almost 100 legal cases against the university management, the Turkish Higher Education Council, and President Erdogan. These cases can be categorized as follows:

We are fundraising for the legal costs

Since the attacks on the university and academics are intensifying, academics expect to file dozens of new lawsuits in the spring semester. However, the average cost of each lawsuit is around 7500 Turkish Liras, roughly 400 USD/ Euros. This sum covers the filing and attorney fees.

As alumni living abroad, we would like to raise money for at least 25 lawsuits filed by Bogazici University academics, which, in total, would require a minimum of 10,000 USD/Euros.

Please show your support by donating to our cause of academic autonomy and freedom at Bogazici University, and in Turkey. We would be grateful if you could share the donation page within your circles.

We will run this campaign in a completely transparent manner. Donors will be regularly updated about the legal cases supported by the raised funds.

The collected funds will be transferred to legal representatives of Boğaziçi Resistance by BOYUT Boğaziçi member and Boğaziçi University alumnus Mert Taş.

Please note that due to legal constraints, we cannot accept donations originating from Turkey.

With solidarity,

BOYUT (Bogazici University International Community)

https://boyutbogazici.org/en/about-boyut-2/