Minister Declines “TOMA Water Wounding” Investigation

Wounded during a protest they haven’t attended in the western province of Izmir to commemorate Soma Mining Disaster, lawyers Ali Aydın and Kızbes Aydın submitted a criminal complaint request - an application declined by Interior Ministry. 

On May 14, lawyers complaint that they were water-cannoned by TOMA vehicles as they were heading back home from work. In the meanwhile, a police intervention took place against those who commemorated the Soma Mining Disaster. 

“Even though we were far away from protestors, TOMA spread cannoned water towards us,” they wrote in the complaint letter. 

They also added that they have documented their injury at a hospital and submitted a complaint against police and governor authorities in Izmir. 

However, Interior Ministry decline the request on October 2, saying that they have detected the two lawyers in the protest. The ministry, on the other hand, was unable to detect the two lawyers clearly from TOMA vehicle surveillance camera. 

“The incident was broke up without injuring anybody unfairly within a respect to human rights regulations,” the ministry statement said. 

Motion

The lawyers of the aforementioned lawyers submitted a motion to Turkey’s Council of State. 

The motion cited that the lawyers were far away from the protests at the time of the incident - a claim they grounded on the parking lot surveillance camera footage. 

“Ali Aydın and Kızbes Aydın were not found in police tank surveillance camera footage,” the motion cited. 

They also insisted on the request to handle an effective investigation on the issue. (AS/BM)

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.