Turkish police detained 65 people on Thursday over protests that started a month ago at a top university, continuing a crackdown on the protesters despite growing international criticism.
Students and teachers at Istanbul's Bogazici University say President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's choice of university rector was undemocratic.
The Istanbul governor's office said the protesters had defied a ban on public demonstrations, gatherings and marches imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic. It said that the people detained on Thursday in Istanbul's Kadikoy district were carrying out illegal acts.
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Students and staff face riot police in a protest against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's decision to appoint Melih Bulu, a businessman with ties to the president's AK Party, as rector at Bogazici University in Istanbul. EPA -
Turkish riot police use plastic bullets against demonstrators at Bogazici University, where students and staff object to Mr Erdogan's decision to appoint a rector, bypassing election by academic staff. The president was empowered to make the appointment by a 2016 law. EPA -
Demonstrators flee tear gas at Bogazici University, one of Istanbul's most prestigious institutions. Reuters -
Protests against the appointment of AK Party loyalist Melih Bulu as rector of Bogazici University by Mr Erdogan have escalated and opponents of the conservative president have become more vocal. Police made dozens of arrests in Ankara, the Turkish capital. EPA -
Protestors at Bogazici University remonstrate with riot police officers. AFP -
Confrontation but no violence between a demonstrator and a police office at the Bogazici University protests in Istanbul. EPA -
Baris Atay, a Workers' Party of Turkey MP and vocal opponent of Mr Erdogan's AK Party, clashes with police at Bogazici University. AFP -
The Turkish government said many of the demonstrators detained at Bogazici University were not from Istanbul. EPA -
A lone protester confronts riot police in the streets of Istanbul. AFP -
A woman is arrested by police during a protest against the appointment of new Bogazici University rector Melih Bulu. Getty -
A protesters rides a motorbike with his dog during a protest in the Kadikoy district in Istanbul. Getty
Authorities said about 600 people had been detained since January 4 after protests spread in Istanbul and Ankara. Most have been released, despite officials saying that the protesters are terrorists.
Two people who were detained at an Istanbul protest on Tuesday were arrested overnight, a court spokeswoman said.
Government response to the protests and condemnation of an art display including a picture blending Islamic and LGBT images alarmed the US and UN, both of which have criticised what they called homophobic rhetoric. Ankara dismissed the criticism as interference in its domestic affairs.
The EU Commission said the detention of students "exercising their legitimate right to freedom of assembly" was deeply worrying, and the Covid pandemic should not be used as a reason to silence critical voices.
"Hate speech displayed by high-level officials against LGBTI students during these events and the closing of an LGBTI association is unacceptable," the commission said.
Mr Erdogan said on Wednesday that his government would not allow the protests to swell into a repeat of widespread demonstrations in 2013, calling protesters terrorists. His interior minister described them as "LGBT deviants".
