Amnesty urges Turkish authorities to cease unlawful use of force and detentions – JURIST
Amnesty International (AI) on Monday called for an end to unlawful violence against protesters and detention of journalists by police in Turkey in the wake of the detention of opposition presidential candidate, Ekrem İmamoğlu, which has sparked mass protests across the country.
According to AI, authorities have confirmed the arrest of 1,133 protesters and at least eight journalists, since the beginning of the protests last week. Upon review of available video footage, AI Secretary General Agnès Callamard also noted police interaction with peaceful demonstrators involving use of batons, pepper spray, tear gas, water cannon and plastic bullets, and kicking of people on the ground. Callamard stated that such use of force has resulted in numerous injuries and hospitalizations, and called for a prompt investigation of the matter.
In addition to physical attacks and unlawful detentions, Callamard also accused Turkish authorities of blatantly assaulting the right to freedom of expression by diminishing access to information. AI noted that internet users experienced restriction of access to social media and news sites, and that “more than 700 accounts of journalists, activists, and opposition figures on Twitter/X have been blocked.” Additionally, three cities instituted a blanket protest ban.
Callamard urged authorities “respect and protect the right to peaceful assembly, immediately lift the blanket protest bans and release all those unjustifiably and arbitrarily detained solely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful protest.”
The protests erupted as a result of İmamoğlu’s arrest on alleged corruption charges. İmamoğlu is also the mayor of the city of Istanbul and a leading member of the opposing Republican People’s Party (CHP). In addition to İmamoğlu, more than 100 politicians, journalists, and business figures have been taken into custody.
Human Rights Watch pointed out that Turkey demonstrates a tendency of incarcerating people for political purposes: in 2020, European Court of Human Rights ordered the immediate release of Kurdish politician, Selahattin Demirtaş, after previously ruling in 2018 that his detention “pursued the ulterior purpose of stifling pluralism and limiting freedom of political debate.”
