Five students were taken into custody by law enforcement officials at Istanbul University yesterday when they attempted to protest against President Abdullah Gül’s visit to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the university’s establishment, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

The students exited the communications department and began chanting slogans against Gül, a graduate of Istanbul University’s economics department, as he entered the university grounds. Police officers intervened, laying the demonstrators on the ground before handcuffing them and carrying them off to their vehicles.

Sweeping security measures were taken in and around the university to ensure the president’s safety. Riot police were deployed in all streets across the districts of Vezneciler and Beyazıt. Bomb sniffer dogs were also placed on duty.

Professor Recep Seymen from the School of Economics rebuffed security officials for not granting him entry, claiming he was denied admission to the ceremony by the university’s rector Professor Yunus Söylet due to the unfavorable views he had provided about him upon the demand of the Presidency of the Higher Education Board (YÖK).