Policemen Battering Journalist Investigated

The Police Headquarters has ordered an investigation into the police officers who roughed up and detained reporter Hilmi Hacaloglu of the private NTV television, and those officers at the Beyoglu police station who beat him up.

Deputy Chief of Police and Police Headquarters spokesman Ramazan Er, at a weekly meeting, said necessary investigations had begun about those officers who took their duties too far.

Beating the detained journalist up

Reporter Hacaloglu was detained by police as he was covering a press statement at the Taksim Square by the members of the Confederation of Revolutionary Laborers' Union (DISK). He was roughed up as he was being detained and was kept under detention for two hours.

A group of police officers, including a deputy police chief, beat the journalist up at the Beyoglu police station.

The reporter is said to have been detained as he was watching the police, wearing civilian clothes, rough up a member of the group after the press statement.

Police: It was not a detention

In a statement about the incident, police said: "Hacaloglu was not detained, he was received as a guest at the police station."

According to statistics prepared by the Human Rights Office of the Prime Ministry, people in January complained most about the police. (EO/BB/EA/NM)