‘2 Protesters to be Paid Damages Due to Disproportionate Use of Force by Police’

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The Constitutional Court has announced its ruling on the application of Deniz Kaplan, Eylem Karadağ and Uğur Uzunpınar, who were subjected to police violence while protesting the bomb attack in Reyhanlı in 2013.

In its detailed ruling, the Constitutional Court has concluded that the disproportionate use of force by the law enforcement officers against Kaplan and Uzunpınar violated the prohibition of maltreatment and treatment incompatible with human dignity as per the Article 17/3 of the Constitution and the right to assembly and demonstration as per the Article 34.

The Court has also ruled the case file shall be sent back to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office for re-investigation. While Deniz Kaplan, who was battered by the police, will be paid 5,000 Turkish Lira (TRY) in non-pecuniary damages, Uzunpınar will also be paid 7,500 TRY.

Numbers on police helmets 'could not be identified'

Three applicants attended a demonstration in the capital city of Ankara on May 18, 2013 to protest the bomb attack in the district of Reyhanlı in Hatay on May 11, 2013. They were battered there by the police.

As the numbers on the helmets of the officers could not be identified, the prosecutor's office gave a decision of non-prosecution.

'He was kicked in the back after falling down'

The justified ruling of the Constitutional Court has detailed the police violence subjected by Deniz Kaplan in following words:

"While it is seen that the applicant was throwing punches at the police officer at the moment of intervention, - within the context that there were more than one police officer and they were involved in the incident physically - the fact that the applicant was hit by truncheons more than once and subjected to blows after being forced to lie down makes the intervention disproportionate - especially when taken together with the findings cited in the Forensic Medical Institution report that she received four days after the incident.

"After the applicant stood up and moved away from the scene of incident for some time, she was battered by the police, albeit not seriously, with truncheons in a degrading manner."

The ruling has also indicated the following about Uğur Uzunpınar:

"The applicant alleged that though he was not in a state to flee after falling down, a police officer kicked him in the back. It is understood that the allegation of the applicant was clearly seen in the images.

"Accordingly, it is seen that when the police intervened to disperse the demonstrating group and catch the responsible ones, the applicant fell down on the ground amid crowd and when he tried to stand up, a police officer kicked him in the back with his right foot and the applicant fell flat after the officer intervened with his hand. The applicant who stayed on the ground was then handcuffed with the help of more than one police officers."

'Their democratic rights hindered'

The lawsuits filed against Uğur Uzunpınar and Eylem Karadağ, who were detained after the police intervention, ended in their acquittal.

In its verdict, the Ankara Penal Court of First Instance concluded that the police violence prevented them from using their democratic rights:

"It is apparent that the aim of the defendants was to protest an incident that took place before the incident [the matter in dispute] and was condemned by the citizens of the Republic of Turkey.

"When the printed documents [video footage] are watched, it is personally identified that [the police] prevented the defendants' use of their democratic freedoms and rights by using force on them without even letting the participants and their friends talk; and no material evidence that would suffice for their penalization can be obtained as to the allegation that they acted deliberately to commit crimes..." (AS/SD)