One of the 80 undergraduate students detained in the raid in Ankara is the top-scorer in the Secondary School Placement Examination. His father died in prison, and his mother was a victim of the crackdown on religious people during the military tutelage in 1997.
CEVHERİ GÜVEN
Eighty undergraduate students were detained in a raid against the Gulen movement on February 28. After 12 days of detention, authorities arrested some while releasing others.
One of the arrested students is Muhammet Miraç Özer, who is the final year student of Ankara University, Faculty of Law. Enrolling at the university with the 900th place among 2.255.386 who took the University Placement Examination test, Muhammet Miraç Özer was also the top-scorer among 1.112.604 participants who took the Secondary School Placement Examination test.
Miraç Özer’s father was a 48-year-old doctor who passed away in prison during the state of emergency. Her mother was a victim of the crackdown during the February 28 post-modern coup. The Erdogan regime has always stated they were victims of that crackdown. February 28 is the historic moment when the women wearing the headscarf who wanted to study at the universities were persecuted, and the beginning of the mistreatment against the people who practice religion started.
Mrs. Asuman Özer, whose son was taken into custody on February 28, 2020, after 23 years of February 28, 1997, underwent a somewhat similar trauma.
No valid grounds for arrest
“My husband, Ali Özer, was arrested during the state of emergency. He died in prison two and a half months later. My son, who was recently arrested, suffered great psychological distress. He was then a second-year student at Ankara University, Department of Law. He had to drop for a year due to the trauma. He hardly recuperated. They arrested him for no tangible reason.”
Stating that two of her children continue with their education in Canada and Europe, Mrs. Asuman stressed that her eldest son Miraç stayed in Turkey to complete his studies in the Faculty of Law.
“Our house was in a remote district in Ankara. It was a 1.5 hours distance from my son’s school by car. He rented a house near the university along with a friend. Then he lived alone for a while after disagreements with his flat-mate. After a while, we had trouble meeting the costs, and he started to live with other friends of his. It was a house he had rented. It was certainly not a Gulen movement house, as claimed.”
“Miraç was in the second grade when his father passed away in prison. He literally had a psychological breakdown. I almost lost my child. He dropped out of school. A year later, he recuperated and continued to his education again. It took a long time to put our life and affairs in order again. He focused on his studies again.
He was the top-scorer in the Middle Schools Placement Examination in Turkey in his first year. He had only one incorrect answer out of 100 questions in his 2nd and 3rd years. As a very successful student, he also was the 900th student in the University Placement Examination. His success took him to the Faculty of Law. He really was a very successful boy. They ruined my son.
The Ankara Bar Association has drawn public attention to the torture of 80 students detained in the Ankara Police Department. The minutes published by the Ankara Bar read that the female students were being stripped to their underwear and beaten down, and police have forcibly removed their headscarves. Mrs. Asuman Özer was very worried about her son.
“They tortured the girls; I cannot imagine what they will do to the boys. I do not even want to imagine. They detained my son for 12 days and then arrested him with no tangible piece of evidence. If my son had any problems, he would carry on with his education abroad with us. He is a child who has no intention other than graduating from university.”
Saying that she still could not get over the pain of losing her husband, Mrs. Asuman Özer cannot keep her tears for her son’s arrest.
“They took away my husband, and now they took my son. What more do they want from us? Everyone in my family is in different countries. Miraç recovered very hard after his father’s loss. I almost lost my son right after his father’s death. He is just an ordinary person. What do they want from us? It is enough.”
Suffered during military tutelage
Mrs. Asuman Özer says that she has been the victim since February 28, 1997, and it is no different today.
Mrs. Asuman Özer stated that she had been the victim of her since February 28 and said, “I was a primary school teacher employed by the Ministry of Education. Three years into my career, the headscarf issue arose during the February 28 process. Since I was wearing a headscarf, an investigation was launched against me and I had to resign. I couldn’t do my job for 16 years. Then, when the headscarf ban was abolished, I returned to my profession. Three years later, this time, I was expelled with a Decree-Law in the state of emergency.”
Husband passed away
Working at Nallıhan State Hospital as a Chief Physician, Mrs. Asuman Özer’s late spouse Ali Özer started working as a primary care physician in Sincan, Ankara. He was detained during the state of emergency.
“On January 9, 2017, my husband was arrested. He passed away on March 22 after two and a half months in prison. He didn’t have any health issues before he was arrested. Authorities declared [the cause of death] as a heart attack, but the medical reports mention internal bleeding. We presented this report to the doctors and then filed a criminal complaint, but no effective investigation was conducted. I cannot claim anything, but my husband’s death was not investigated.”
Mrs. Asuman Özer wants her child to be released as soon as possible so that his education will not be interrupted for the second time, saying that her child is not involved in any crime.