Constitutional Court says punching protester not lawful

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Nazan Bozkurt, a dismissed civil servant who had been attending the "I want my job back" protests on Yüksel Street, Ankara, had an orbital fracture after being punched by a police officer during a demonstration on November 11, 2019. Also, a woman officer had bitten her leg.

After prosecutors dismissed her criminal complaint against police officers, Bozkurt filed an individual application with the Constitutional Court, which handed down its judgment on December 7.

The high court ruled that the treatment of Bozkurt violated the material and procedural aspects of the prohibition of torture, which is guaranteed under article 17 of the Constitution and that the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office should re-investigate the incident.

"She jumped from the vehicle"

The police officers who responded to the demonstration had written in the minutes that Bozkurt had jumped from the detention vehicle and was injured after hitting her face on a hard place.

However, the high court decision said the hard place where she said to have hit her place was not explained and no such action could be identified in the camera footage.

"This allegation was not taken as a basis for consideration by the prosecutor's office conducting the investigation and it was assessed that the applicant had been injured as a result of the lawful use of force applied due to his resistance to the detention procedure."

Exceeding authority

The force applied to Bozkurt in a way that causes a fracture in her face could not be explained with the lawful use of force, the court further stated.

The police officers did not use force proportionately and exceeded the authority to use force, which violated article 17, according to the verdict.

Considering the gravity of the injury, the treatment Bozkurt was subjected to was torment, the court concluded. Therefore, an effective investigation should be carried out to find those responsible for the violation of article 17, it stated.

Working as a registrar in Çankaya, Ankara since 2007, Bozkurt was dismissed by Statutory Decree No. 683 on January 13, 2017. She is one of the tens of thousands of civil servants who lost their jobs during the state of emergency following the 2016 coup attempt. (AS/VK)