To the Minister of Justice:

Minister of Justice

Abdülhamit

Gül

Minister of Justice

Dear Minister of Justice

Students Melike and Özgür have dedicated themselves to defending lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI+) rights at their university.

After being instructed not to go ahead with their annual Pride march on campus, they instead staged a sit-in on 10 May 2019. The university called the police who responded using excessive force, including tear gas, against the peaceful student protesters.

Police arrested 23 students, including Melike and Özgür, as well as several who hadn’t even taken part in the protest.

It is unacceptable that of those 25 arrested, 18 METU university students now face prosecution for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

Which is why I'm calling on you to ensure the students are acquitted and to conduct a prompt, independent and impartial investigation into the excessive use of force by police on campus on 10 May. Any police officers found to have acted unlawfully should be brought to justice.

Everyone should have the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. The METU students are no exception.

Sincerely,

{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Surname}

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