ISTANBUL (AP) — Hundreds of demonstrators have gathered in Istanbul to demand the reversal of recent decisions by Turkey’s government that affect students, women and the LGBT community. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a surprise decree a week ago ending Turkey’s participation in a landmark treaty aimed at protecting women from violence. About a thousand women and allies turned up Saturday to protest the country’s withdrawal from the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention. Hundreds of students also held a protest against the appointment of an academic with ties to Erdogan’s party as rector of Turkey’s most prestigious university. The students and women also demanded an end to anti-LGBT actions amid growing intolerance from the government and police.
