Prosecutor Rejects Trial for 1 May Police Violence

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has rejected the complaints filed by 38 people about police violence at last year’s 1 May demonstrations. The prosecution will not open a trial against police officers.

The complainants included trade union leaders, NGOs, a journalist and the president of the Turkish Union of Physicians.

Police violence was "legitimate" 

Although the case was rejected on 12 March, it has only now become public. The public prosecutor Abdülaziz Özatlan pointed out that the trade unions and NGOs demonstrated in the Taksim area “although no permission had been given and security forces had received intelligence that members of a terrorist organization would join and had thus taken precautions.”

The decision also said that demonstrators trying to get to Taksim had been warned and told to disperse. The prosecutor said there had been attacks on police officers and resistance, and that the police had then used legal force with tear gas and some detentions.

However, what the prosecutor ignored was that, according to the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations, there is no such thing as a “forbidden demonstration.” It is enough to inform authorities.

Complaints about injuries rejected 

“Even if some people were injured, this was a result of the legal force used by police officers,” continued the prosecutor's decision, arguing that there was no clear and convincing evidence of violence, and that the injuries were consistent with the degree of force legitimately used by the police. (EÖ/TK)