Police erect barricades around İstanbul's Gezi Park on 10th anniversary of massive protests

Photos: Ayşegül Özbek/bianet

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On the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Gezi Park protests, the police have cordoned off the vicinity of the park in Taksim Square, Istanbul.

In the afternoon, law enforcement officials placed barricades around the park and the iconic Atatürk monument, while some individuals chose to recline on the surrounding grassy areas.

Back in 2013, the government had made the controversial decision to reconstruct the artillery barracks from the early 1900s that once occupied the site of Gezi Park, as a commercial establishment. The proposed project sparked opposition from hundreds of protesters who had taken to the park, one of the few remaining green spaces in İstanbul, setting up tents and organizing sit-ins. The response from the police and municipal authorities was forceful, leading to the burning of the protesters' tents.

As May 31 approached, the protests spread beyond İstanbul, with hundreds of thousands of people engaging in confrontations with the police across the country. Subsequently, the demonstrations transformed into mass protests against the government led by then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, engulfing the entire nation.

Official statements revealed that anti-government protests took place in 80 out of 81 provinces, marking it as the largest protests in the history of the Republic, where millions of people took to the streets. Throughout the course of the protests, 10 demonstrators and one police officer lost their lives.

In April 2022, eight individuals, including human rights defenders, were found guilty of organizing and financing the Gezi Park protests. Businessman and human rights advocate Osman Kavala was sentenced to life imprisonment for the charge of "attempting to overthrow the government." The other seven defendants were found guilty of aiding this attempt and were sentenced to 18 years in prison. (VK)