May Day Police Violence Goes Unpunished

Bahçelievler District Governorship in Istanbul did not grant permission for the trial of the police officers who had attacked daily Cumhuriyet’s reporters Esra Açıkgöz and Ali Deniz Uslu at this year’s May Day police violence.

Activists, rights defenders and journalists had reacted verbally to the use of pressurized water, tear gas and batons by police against the activists at Şişli and Beyoğlu districts. 

There is no one to blame for the police violence after 4,5 months

During the May Day police violation, reporter Uslu was attacked by police on the street where the building of daily Cumhuriyet is and his arm was broken. Cumhuriyet reporter Açıkgöz was attacked with batons.

Mehmet Nuri Ö. was identified as the police officer who attacked the reporters, but an expert report penned on July 7 concluded that there was no evidence showing that he was the police who attacked the reporters and since the reporters did not come to give their statements, there was no need to start an investigation about the police officer. Therefore, the Bahçelievler District Governorship did not grant permission for the investigation.

Those who kicked Songül Çiftçi will not be tried, either

Mehmet Firuz B. was identified as Çiftçi’s attacker, but since the Criminal Laboratory of the Police Department did not find the images sufficient for identification and since Çiftçi could not identify her attacker during a line-up, permission for investigation for this police officer was not granted, either.

The attacks of the last year had not receive any punishment either

In the May Day of 2007, daily Cumhuriyet’s reporter Alper Turgut, daily Vatan’s reporter Bülent Ergün, daily Radikal’s reporters Demet Bilge Ergün, Umay Aktaş, Timur Soykan and İsmail Saymaz, TV channel Kanal D’s reporter İhsanYıldız and TV channel Su TV’s cameraperson were attacked by police officers, but these attacks had gone unpunished. (EÖ/EÜ)