Erdogan Signs Decree Closing Bilgi University Amid Criminal Probe
The decree follows a probe that led to 121 Can Holding companies being seized and placed under state control, officials said.
- On Friday, President Tayyip Erdogan signed a decree closing Istanbul Bilgi University, effectively revoking the operational licence for one of Turkey's oldest private institutions. The closure follows the state's seizure of the university last year during a criminal investigation into its owner, Can Holding.
- Investigators previously alleged that Can Holding principals engaged in money laundering and tax evasion, prompting the state to seize 121 companies last year. Authorities cited a law allowing closure if "the expected level of education and training... is insufficient" as grounds for the decree.
- Turkiye's Council of Higher Education promised to take "the necessary measures" to ensure the more than 20,000 students "suffer no harm" during the transition. Under regulations, students are automatically transferred to Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, designated as the guarantor state institution.
- "An institution built with 30 years of effort was effectively shut down overnight," Yaman Akdeniz, a Bilgi professor of law, wrote on social media. He criticized the closure as lawlessness, arguing university closures must occur through law, not executive decree.
- Critics argue the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund, which controls more than 1,000 companies, has become an instrument of political pressure against independent businesses. Officials have not confirmed how students will complete their academic year or sit end-of-year exams in June.
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Lietuvos Radijas ir TelevizijaTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday ordered the closure of a top liberal-leaning independent university in Istanbul in the middle of the academic year.
Erdogan Shuts Liberal Istanbul University
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday ordered a top independent university with liberal leanings in Istanbul to shut in the middle of the school year, according to an official decree. Erdogan's decree, published in the official journal, revokes the operating license for Bilgi University, which has more than 20,000 students from both Türkiye and abroad, with some of its researchers renowned in their fields.
Turkey, Private University Closed Bilgi: so President Erdogan Eliminates yet Another Critical Source
The day after speaking on the phone with the American president Donald Trump, the Turkish autocrate Recep Tayyip Erdogan closed by decree the Bilgi University, the main and most authoritative private university of Turkey, based in Istanbul. Without any explanation, the Sultan, after several attempts to normalize it, has thus removed one of the most painful thorns for him- in the side that for years constituted an obstacle to his unstoppable asce…
Turkish President Erdogan has ordered the closure of a private university in Istanbul.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ordered the closure of a prominent liberal university in Istanbul. The decision, published in the official gazette on Friday, revokes the operating license of Bilgi University, which has more than 20,000 Turkish and foreign students and employs renowned teachers and researchers in their fields. The document cites a legal provision that allows an institution to be closed if “the expected level of educati…
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