President Erdoğan ousts Boğaziçi University rector

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on July 15 replaced a top Istanbul university rector whose appointment led to months of student-led protests.

Erdoğan appointed Melih Bulu as rector of Boğaziçi University in January but students started protesting, saying that the appointment of Bulu as rector was contrary to the customs of a 158-year-old university.

In an announcement published by the Official Gazette, Erdoğan dismissed Bulu. The president provided no reason for his dismissal. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Naci İnci has been appointed as the interim-rector. 

Protests by students and academics began almost immediately in January and continued to the present day.

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