Turkey: New report reveals scale of human rights abuses by police during the Gezi Park protests
Turkish authorities committed human rights violations on a massive scale in the government’s attempts to crush the Gezi Park protests this summer, Amnesty International revealed in a new report published today.
The report also documents the failure to bring these abuses to justice and the subsequent prosecution and harassment of those that took part in the protests
Amnesty’s expert on Turkey, Andrew Gardner, said:
“The attempt to smash the Gezi Park protest movement involved a string of human rights violations on a huge scale. They include the wholesale denial of the right to peaceful assembly and violations of the rights to life, liberty and the freedom from torture and ill-treatment.
“The determination of the Turkish authorities to end the Gezi Park protests – and discourage their recurrence – is clear. Their tactics of choice have been force, threats, insults and prosecution.
“The levels of violence used by police in the course of the Gezi Park protests clearly show what happens when poorly trained, poorly supervised police officers are instructed to use force – and encouraged to use it unsparingly – safe in the knowledge that they are unlikely ever to be identified or prosecuted for their abuses.
“Hundreds of people are facing prosecution solely for their participation in the demonstrations without evidence that they themselves participated in any violent act.
“Many of those accused of organising of the protests are being investigated under anti-terrorism legislation.
“The Turkish government must learn to tolerate the dissenting opinions expressed through street protests and ensure that police are equipped, trained and instructed to police them lawfully.”
Amnesty monitored demonstrations in Istanbul and Ankara and interviewed scores of people in four cities across Turkey who were injured by police or who were unlawfully detained, beaten or sexually assaulted during detention.
The vast majority of police abuses already look likely to go unpunished, while many of those who organised and participated in the protests have been vilified, abused and now face prosecution on unfair or inflated charges. Those who assisted protestors or reported on the protests – such as doctors, lawyers, journalists and even businesses – have faced threats and harassment.
Amnesty is calling on governments and suppliers of riot control equipment to impose an immediate export or transfer ban on Turkey: In particular tear gas, pepper sprays and plastic bullets.
Such a ban should remain in force until the Turkish authorities allow prompt, independent and impartial investigations into the allegations of abusive or arbitrary use of force, and demonstrate a commitment to their use in accordance with international standards.
Background Information
On 1 June, Ethem Sarısülük was shot in the head by a police officer and died as a result of his injuries on 14 June. A police officer has been indicted, but on the least serious charges possible – causing death by exceeding the limits of legitimate defence without intent. Ethem Sarısülük’s family and potential witnesses are being harassed.
Water cannons were used repeatedly and unnecessarily against peaceful demonstrators, including those fleeing police or hiding inside buildings. There is strong evidence that chemical irritants had been added to the water which caused a burning sensation and reddening of the skin.
Tear gas canisters were fired as a weapon against protestors. Tear gas was also used against people fleeing police and at bystanders, as well as people in residential buildings, commercial premises and health facilities. Police officers sprayed pepper spray in the eyes of demonstrators as a punishment after they were apprehended.
Witnesses report that Abdullah Cömert was hit in the head by a tear gas canister fired at close range by a police officer in Antakya on 3 June and died of his injuries the following day.
Plastic bullets were fired at close range to head and upper parts of the body.
On 11 June, Hülya Arslan lost her right eye and had her nose broken after police fired plastic bullets in Gezi Park.
Eylem Karadağ was detained, beaten and groped by male police officers after she was apprehended, close to the scene of a demonstration in the Ankara district of Dikmen on 26 June. She made a complaint about the sexual assault and was informed that her case will be investigated.
Deniz Erşahin was sexually assaulted by police officers in the Kızılay district of Ankara on 16 June. Her complaint was registered by police.
On 2 June, Ali Ismail Korkmaz, a protestor in the central Anatolian city of Eskişehir was severely beaten and died as a result of the injuries he sustained on 10 July. CCTV evidence of the beating was destroyed but despite this four police officers and four civilians are due to stand trial accused of causing his death.
Hakan Yaman, a 37 year-old father of two was beaten by police near his home in the Sarıgazi district of Istanbul on 3 June while a demonstration was taking place on the nearby Demokrasi Avenue. His nose, cheek bone, and the bones of his forehead and chin were broken. He lost one eye and has lost 80 percent of his sight in the other. His skull was fractured from the top of his head all the way down to his jaw and his back sustained second degree burns from being thrown on a fire. He lost consciousness during the attack. Hakan Yaman filed a criminal complaint on grounds of attempted murder.
Kemal Soğukdere and Alper Çakıcı, both journalists working for Al Jazeera, were beaten on the evening of 17 June while walking in Taksim, Istanbul, inspite informing the police that they were from the media. Police left them after taking the memory card from their camera. They filed a criminal complaint with the prosecutor’s office in Istanbul but have not heard back.
Gökhan Biçici, a journalist reporting for Turkey’s IMC TV was detained on the street and in police buses for more than six hours before being taken into official custody on 16 June. Video evidence shows him being beaten by a group of riot police officers on a street in the Şişli district of Istanbul.