Constitutional Court Ruling on Machete Attacker: Police Didn’t Act with Due Diligence

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The Constitutional Court has announced its ruling on the individual application of journalist Ender Ergün, who was wounded in the incident when Sabri Çelebi, a restaurant owner in Taksim, attacked the protesters with a machete-like object in İstanbul during Gezi Resistance in 2013.

In his application to the Constitutional Court, journalist Ergün claimed that "the prohibition of degrading treatment incompatible with human dignity was violated as the full remedy action against the failure to prevent the attacks of civilians against the protesters was rejected."

Examining the application of the journalist, the Constitutional Court has concluded that the police failed to prevent Çelebi and restaurant personnel. The ruling of the Court reads, "It is obvious that the person with a sharp object in his hand passed through the law enforcement officers and attacked the people in the vicinity and the law enforcement officers did not act with due diligence in catching this person and bringing him under control."

'Law enforcement didn't bring him under control'

The Court has made the following comments on the attitude of the police towards the person known as "Machete attacker" and his friends:

"It is difficult to say that the civilian persons committed the assault in a spontaneous manner and in a short time. Because the civilian persons who got into the crowd with sharp and bruising objects continued their actions for a considerable amount of time.

"In some images, it is also obvious that the person with a sharp object in his hand passed through the law enforcement officers and attacked the people in the vicinity and the law enforcement officers did not act with due diligence in catching this person and bringing him under control."

Non-pecuniary damages to journalist

Against this background, the Constitutional Court has concluded that the attitude of the police has violated the obligation to protect the prohibition of degrading treatment incompatible with human dignity. Moreover, the Court has also ruled that the protesters' right to demonstration has been violated by the excessive intervention of the police.

Accordingly, the case file of the journalist will be referred to the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office to eliminate the consequences of the violation in re-investigation. Concluding that identifying the violation will not compensate the immaterial damages suffered by Ergün, the Court has ruled that the journalist shall be paid 32,500 TRY in non-pecuniary damages. (HA/SD)

* Sources: Constitutional Court, daily BirGün