Nearly 130 students from the Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) and Hacettepe University were detained by police officers and taken to a courthouse in Ankara when they boarded buses to go to their universities on Wednesday without paying. Other bus passengers then reported the chaos caused by the students to the police. The protests continued until midnight on Wednesday. Following the protest, 28 students from Hacettepe University and 99 from ODTÜ were detained.Bus fares in Ankara reverted to 2003 levels on March 8 following a ruling by the Ankara 2nd Administrative Court in a case filed by the Federation of Consumer Associations (TÜDEF). The Ankara Chamber of Minibus Drivers in turn filed suit with the court seeking the cancellation of the fare decrease. As a result, fare decreases were cancelled and bus fares returned to their previous levels.
A number of civil society organizations, including the Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (KESK) and TÜDEF, gathered in front of the courthouse where the students were referred in order to support them.
Meanwhile, Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek gave a monetary award to Ankara bus driver Celal Sağdıç, who drove the bus the students chose to carry out their protest on. Stating that they may have to suspend bus lines to the Hacettepe and ODTÜ universities if their students continue to protest, Gökçek said: “The protests are against Article 14 of the Turkish Penal Code [TCK]. Violating the law leads to imprisonment and fines.”
