Childhood arrest, acquittal after 73 days, and ban on university studies

According to Kurdistan Press, Noda Kartal was arrested on October 4, 2025, when she was a 12th-year student at Anatoly Patnos High School in Agri province, following a report against her. She was imprisoned on charges of "membership in a terrorist organization," but was acquitted of the charges after 73 days and released from Erzincan Women's Prison.

After her release, Kartal took the Turkish Higher Education Institutions Entrance Exam (YKS) and was accepted into the Anthropology department of Uzuncu Yale Van University in the 2026 intake.However, when he went to the university to register, he found that he had been rejected and had not received his diploma due to the absences recorded during his detention.

According to the report, 55 days of Kartal’s 73-day detention were recorded as absences in his academic record, preventing him from registering at the university and continuing his studies.

Dem Party’s request for parliamentary review

The Peoples’ Democracy and Equality Party (Dem Party) submitted a request to the Turkish Parliament’s Human Rights Review Committee to remove the exclusion.

In the request, Dem Party requested an investigation into the detention process of Nuda Kartal and how his time in prison was recorded in the school’s electronic system. The party also asked whether Kartal and his legal guardian were notified of the 40th and 55th days of absence.The petition called on the Ministry of National Education, the institutions responsible for education and, if necessary, the Turkish Council of Higher Education to take immediate action to prevent the violation of Kartal's right to education and access to higher education.

The Dempartee also called for an examination of the mechanisms in place for the return of students who were detained as children and then released. Other issues raised in the petition included following up on absences, providing psychological and social support, informing families and protecting the right to education of these children.

Detention of a child in an adult prison

Noda Kartal said that she was under 18 when she was detained, but was held in an adult prison.

Regarding this period, she said: "When I was detained, I was under 18 and legally a child. The accusation that led to my detention was not based on any tangible evidence and was completely baseless."

Kartal added: "They sent me to the L-type women's prison in Patnos and put me next to adult prisoners. I wrote several requests to be transferred to the children's prison, but I did not receive a response and my requests were not considered."

She said that after a while she was transferred to the Erzanjan women's prison, where she was forced to stay in the same ward with children imprisoned in ordinary court cases. Kartal was later released and acquitted of the charges.

I was punished twice

Nuda Kartal emphasized that her acquittal did not prevent her from violating her right to education, saying: "After my release, I took the YKS exam and was accepted to the anthropology department of Yuzunju Yale University. When I went to register, I found out that I had failed high school. They recorded 55 days of absence for me due to my 73 days of detention.He added: “I was punished twice; first I was detained on baseless allegations and then I was acquitted, then the Ministry of National Education punished me.”

Kartal, citing Article 42 of the Turkish Constitution, Articles 3 and 28 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 2 of the Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights, and Article 4 of Turkish Law No. 5395, said that these provisions guaranteed his right to education.

 “I do not want an additional privilege; I only want the right I already have,” he stressed.