Police Allegedly Strip Search People at İstanbul's Zorlu PSM Concert Hall

Photo: zorlu.com.tr

Click to read the article in Turkish

Several people who recently went to concerts at İstanbul's Zorlu Performing Arts Center (Zorlu PSM) claim that they were strip searched by the police during the events.

The police can only conduct a strip search upon a prosecutor's order, according to a recent judgment by the Constitutional Court, the top court of the country. 

"I was at the doorsteps of the area where the event took place. Someone came, hold my neck and said, 'I will speak with you a bit.' I asked him to show his identity card. He showed," said a male university student who went to the hall to see the concert of the "Hidden Empire" group in December.

"He took me out of that area and walked me down the stairs near the emergency door. The chief came and said, 'Empty your pockets.' And then they brought someone else in as well. They searched us, didn't find anything.

"Then they very harshly asked us to strip down completely. I asked, 'Is what you do legal?' They replied, 'We are both the legislation and the law here.'

"They asked both of us to take off our underwear. We bent down, they looked. Then they told us, 'Go.' They brought five more people there while we were heading out. One of them was a woman. There were no female police officers there.

"I was terrified. I just went to see a concert and they treated me like a potential criminal."

'It was traumatic'

A woman named K.Ü. also said that she was strip searched during a concert this month.

"During the concert, I went out to smoke a cigarette. A man was looking at me. His looks drew my attention but I didn't mind much. Then he suddenly said, 'Are you smoking a cigarette?' He attacked my hand and tried to take the cigarette. In a reflex, I closed my hand. We were clenched.

"He said, 'Open Your hand.' I didn't. He told me 'I am a police officer.' I told him, 'Show your identity.' He didn't. While were fighting like this, I escaped from him. I thought, 'At least I should go back inside and tell my friend about the situation.

"When you enter the concert area, you stretch out your arm and they mark it. When I stretched my arm, a man came and loudly said, 'Let's speak with you a bit.' They brought me somewhere near the emergency exit. They set up a base there. Downstairs is like a police station. A lot of plain-clothed police officers gathered around me. I again asked them to show their identity cards. They were yelling at me all the time. They searched me. They said, 'Go to the upstairs.'

"There was a female private security officer. It was apparent that she was also terrified. She said she will strip search us and we should take our clothes off. I just took my top off. I was shouting all the time, asking, 'That is happening?' They heard someone coming and stopped the search. They told me, 'You can go.'

"Jelibon [jelly candies] was found in my pocket. One asked, 'What is this?' I yelled, 'It's jelibon. Take it to examination if you want!'

"I can't understand how Zorlu is doing something like this. Such a thing can't happen without their knowledge. I have become traumatized, I can't go out."

Zorlu PSM 'has footage'

One of the people submitted a petition about the incidents to the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. Saying that he heard other people were strip searched as well and called on those people to act together.

He also said that he learned the Zorlu PSM has the security camera footage and the identities of the police officers who were on duty on the night of the incident. He called on the Zorlu PSM to share this information with the judiciary.

Zorlu PSM's public relations department told bianet that "It is the routine practice of the police. We don't have anything to state." (EMK/VK)