ANTALYA - Real estate office canceled the contract with Kurdish students that they rented a house after the Antalya Police Department threatened them. Stating that they have been under police pressure for two years, the students said that they will file a criminal complaint.

 

Antalya Police called the owner of the real estate office where Kurdish students studying at Akdeniz University rented a house, threatening not to give them a house. University students Botan A. and B.Y. signed a contract to rent a house they found in Ahlatlı Neighborhood of Kepez district. The owner of the real estate office, who called them 3 hours later, reported that he was called and threatened by the TEM police under the Antalya Police Department. The owner of the real estate office canceled the contract after the police threat. The students said that they would file a criminal complaint about the victimization they experienced.

 

'DO NOT GIVE HOME TO TERRORISTS'

 

One of the students, Botan A., stated that his right to shelter was usurped and told what happened: “After we rented the house, we paid the fee and signed the contract. On the way home, the real estate agent called me and said that a police officer named Hakan from TEM called him. The realtor said that the police threatened him. These are terrorists, do not give them houses. Later, the realtor called us and said that he had given up on giving the house. The real estate agent who gave my remaining money back did not cover the shipping costs we charged for the cleaning materials and furniture we spent on the house.”

 

THE STUDENTS HAVE BEEN FOLLOWED FOR TWO YEARS BY THE POLICE

 

Stating that the police had made unfounded allegations against the owner and neighbors of the house they had previously stayed in, and that they had to leave the house due to pressure, Botan A. said: “The police contact the landlords or the real estate agent after us in every house we find, and they denigrate us. We have been facing these problems for 2 years. They even prevent us from sheltering. We are constantly following up even at school, they go to every student we come into contact with and say that we are 'terrorists' and put pressure on them not to talk to us."

 

'OUR KURDISH IDENTITY IS THE REASON FOR THE OPPRESSIONS'

 

Stating that they were detained on February 22, 2022, when they were attacked by a racist group, and an investigation was launched against them, Botan A. said: "Our scholarships were cut off and we were kicked out of the dormitories because we participated in the press releases. The only reason for these pressures is our Kurdish identity. We were attacked, but the investigation was opened to us. We will apply to the Human Rights Association (İHD) regarding this issue. They are trying to scare and intimidate us with these. But we will always seek our rights against this injustice, and we will continue our struggle.”

 

MA / Dilan Akyol