Beyazıt Square Massacre: The Attack That Shook Turkey

On 16 March 1978 the Beyazıt massacre took place in Istanbul when seven students were killed and 41 injured at the University of Istanbul.
The bomb attack targeted left-wing students. The police had been informed in advance by an intelligence officer that a bomb attack on students exiting the university was planned by right-wing nationalists, but they failed to act.
An investigation into the killings was opened but later closed due to lack of evidence. The case was reopened in 1995 but dropped after prosecutors claimed the statute of limitations had passed. However, this decision was criticised by Turkey's justice minister in 2010 who stated that the prosecutors and judges responsible would be punished. More: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/7778/beyaz%C4%B1t-massacre

Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.

• See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
• Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date
• Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com
• Check out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com
• If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History