Police Violence Against Lawyer: ‘What About Your Attorneyship Now?’

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Subjected to police violence in front of his house in Antalya while he was about to get off his car, lawyer Ahmed Buğra Çelik has filed a criminal complaint against the police officers.

Parking his car in front of his house and preparing to go home on August 24, Çelik was forcibly taken to police station and severely battered.

Lawyer Çelik has said, "I cannot make any sense of this grudge, this rage. I cannot understand where they find this authority, either."

'You can go and complain wherever you want'

Speaking to bianet about what he went through, lawyer Ahmed Buğra Çelik has briefly recounted the incident as follows:

"I parked my car in front of my house at 00.45 a.m. While my car was parked, my telephone rang. I picked up the phone and started talking. The police knocked on the window. I opened it. The officer said, 'Get off the car.' I asked, 'Why, Mr. officer?'. He answered that he heard a gun being fired in the neighborhood and wanted to search my car.

"I said, 'Of course' and got off the car, showing my lawyer's ID. Police officers are legally obliged to show their police IDs anyway. I put my hands in the air and said, 'You can search both me and my car.'

"In response, the officer told me, 'Don't be a smart-**s. Or I will take off my uniform and f**k you on the ground.' And I told him not to swear and threaten me. 'I am not threatening you', he told me.

"I said one more time, 'Search if you will, or I will go home.' He answered, 'I will search if I will, will I ask you?'. I said in response, 'Mr. officer, you are threatening me for minutes, you are insulting me, this behavior, this attitude does not suit this uniform.' He told me in response, 'Will you decide it?

"He also said, 'F**k off, you can go and complain to whoever you want.' And I asked his name and his superior so that I could file a complaint. Just then, an older officer came towards us and punched me in my abdominal cavity saying, 'You are asking the superior of whom? Go and I will detain you.'

'They hit my head and kicked me'

"My car was still operating at the time. He said, 'Get on that car, shut it up.' When I made a move to turn off the engine, he shouted 'Don't escape' and insulted me. The younger one, the officer that I talked first said, 'Are we taking him by force?'. Then, the violence started.

"They hit my head, they kicked me. While my head was in the police car, my body was outside. They were constantly hitting me while I was in that position. They forced me into the car in that position. In the car, they told me 'You said that you are a lawyer, what about your attorneyship now?'

'They took down a report as if I was guilty'

"They took me to the police station like that. They prepared the crime scene report as if I was guilty. I did not sign the report.

"A deputy police chief helped me for the sake of humanity. After being subjected to violence till 4.30 in the morning, I completed the legal formalities and left at around 7 a.m."

Leaving the police station, Çelik went to the hospital and receive a medical report indicating the marks of battery on his body. He has filed a criminal complaint at the prosecutor's office with this report.

He has also added that Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor and the prosecutor of the investigation are dealing with the issue and he has received supports from several colleagues, including Ankara and Antalya Bar Association chairs and executives. (AS/SD)