Protester Subjected to Police Violence in Gezi Resistance to be Paid Compensation

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The Constitutional Court has announced its justified decision in the application of Eda Ayşegül Kılıç, who was exposed to police violence in Ankara during the 2013 Gezi resistance.

The court ruled that prohibition of torture, which was regulated in Article 17/3 of the Constitution, was violated in terms of material and procedural dimensions and that the right to assembly and demonstration, which was regulated in Article 24 of the Constitution, was violated.

Kılıç will be paid 37,500 Turkish lira (~6,120 US dollars) for non-pecuniary damages. The case file will be sent to Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office to be reinvestigated for the elimination of the consequences of the violation.

Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office previously gave a verdict of non-prosecution for the police officers whom Kılıç filed a complaint against, stating that "they used the authority given by their chief and the law."

'She did not involve in violence'

The Constitutional court decision underlined that there was not a criminal investigation against Kılıç. "In this case, it is not possible to acknowledge that the applicant took an offensive attitude that could only be controlled by the use of force and that the intervention she was subjected to was necessary," it stated.

Noting that it was not found that she was involved in violence and that she did not use the freedom to assembly in a peaceful manner, the court stated that it was inexplicable that Kılıç was injured in her head and face: " It cannot be said that the applied physical force was moderate."

'The perception of de-facto immunity for police officers'

It was also wrong to not investigate the police officers despite a complaint by Kılıç, according to the justified decision.

"In the scope of the investigation, no inquiry has been conducted to determine the identity of law enforcement officers who injured the applicant and their statements were not taken. This is an important deficiency that may create the perception that the relevant public officials have benefited from de-facto immunity because of their actions that were found to violate the prohibition of torture."

'The intervention cannot be regarded as measured'

The court ruled that the violence used by the police could not be regarded as measured and in accordance with the requirements of the democratic social order as it caused soft tissue lesions and post-traumatic stress disorder on the applicant, who exercised the right to peaceful assembly.

What happened?

Eda Ayşegül Kılıç, a trainee solicitor at the time, attended Gezi protests on the Kızılay Square in the capital Ankara.

At around 9 p.m. on June 2, 2013, he was attacked by the police on Atatürk Boulevard. She was affected by tear gas and was injured by the police officers, who punched and kicked her and hit her with batons.

She applied to Başkent University Hospital and stated that law enforcement officers hit her in the back, waist, head and arm and that she lost consciousness because of that. She filed a criminal complaint against the police officers after receiving a report.

In her petition of complaint, she stated that the police officers swore at her, hit her in the head with batons, and sprayed pepper gas in her face. She stated that she lost consciousness and her friends took her from the sidewalk. At that moment, they were attacked one more time and she lost consciousness again, she stated. She also said the police fired tear gas at the place where they took shelter.

The medical report she received stated that she had physical injuries and experienced post-traumatic stress disorder.

Despite these, the prosecutor's office gave a verdict of non-prosecution regarding the police officers.

After that, Kılıç made an individual application to the Constitutional Court. (AS/VK)