Students imprisoned in Marmara Women’s Closed Prison have sent a powerful message reaffirming their commitment to the fight for justice. Emphasizing the need to escalate their resistance, they called for the ongoing student boycott to grow into a general strike, urging workers to stand in solidarity: "We call on workers to join hands with students in the struggle."

Born and raised under the oppressive and reactionary policies of the AKP government, young people across Turkey are demanding change. At the forefront of this movement, university students have continued their protests despite mass arrests and government crackdowns. Their struggle is not limited to the streets—those imprisoned for their activism are just as determined to keep the movement alive.

Among them are students held in Marmara Women’s Prison, unlawfully detained for five days. Speaking to ANF, they emphasized that the success of the ongoing academic boycott depends on transforming it into a larger movement, calling for nationwide solidarity.

"Workers and students must struggle together!"

Seçil Murtazaoğlu, a second-year Chemical Engineering student at Istanbul Technical University (ITÜ), was among the students who took to the streets demanding justice and change. As she prepared to launch the boycott in Beşiktaş, she was detained in a police raid on March 24. After a day in custody at the Vatan Security Directorate, she was initially released under judicial control, only to be arbitrarily re-arrested.

Speaking from the C-8 block of Marmara Women’s Prison, Murtazaoğlu dismissed their detention as an intimidation tactic, vowing that they would not be silenced: "These unlawful actions have never stopped us before, and they won’t now. Our path is one of resistance, and no amount of repression can change that. We, the youth, will bring the spring."

Calling for the boycott to spread across the country, she stressed the need for broader participation: "Workers, join hands with students! This fight belongs to all of us."

"We will win through collective struggle!"

Another imprisoned student, Tutku Kırcalı, a fourth-year psychology student at Boğaziçi University, echoed this call, emphasizing that the boycott must evolve into a general strike. Kırcalı, who was also arrested on May 1, pointed out that government repression has intensified in recent years, but the people are no longer afraid.

She said: "The regime wants to create an atmosphere of fear, but we refuse to be intimidated. The mass protests we’ve seen—from university campuses to city squares—have already shattered their barriers of repression. The government fears this uprising could spark another Gezi Resistance. That’s why they’re arresting students, workers, and activists. But no matter what they do, the struggle for justice and freedom cannot be silenced, nor can it be locked away behind prison walls."

Expressing solidarity with the students continuing the boycott outside, Kırcalı added: "We will win through collective resistance!"

"Your resistance gives us strength!"

Students from Istanbul University, also imprisoned, reaffirmed their determination and called for the movement to grow stronger: "Do not worry about us. Our morale is high, and our struggle continues behind these walls just as it does outside. The only real danger is staying silent in the face of injustice. That’s why we must all raise our voices together. Knowing that the resistance continues beyond these prison walls gives us strength. Attempts to criminalize protests won’t stop us—we are not a generation that will be silenced. See you in the days when we will stand shoulder to shoulder in the fight for justice. Stay in solidarity!"