New Chief Çapkın's Record Inglorious in Izmir

Following the transfer of Istanbul's Chief of Police Celalettin Cerrah to Osmaniye province as governor, Izmir's Chief of Police has been transferred to Istanbul.

While many groups in Istanbul have been relieved by Cerrah's transfer, it seems that the new Chief of Police, Hüseyin Çapkın, will not bring any change in attitude, judging from the performance of the Izmir police force in the last two years.

A recently-published report by the Turkey Human Rights Foundation (TİHV) lists human rights violations committed by the police in the last two years, since June 2006, when the Law on Police Duties and Powers was changed.

Çapkin became Izmir's Chief of Police in May 2006. According to the TİHV report, there are 23 violations listed during the last two years, most of them accusations of torture.

In the same period, two young men, Baran Tursun and Emrah Gider, were shot dead by police bullets. Hasan Köse and Uğur Olukkaya were wounded.

The violations are as follows:

Students İlker Turgut and Doğukan Öci, who wanted to open placards at the Izmir International Fair were taken into custody on 9 September 2007. When lawyer Mustafa Rollas, former president of Izmir's Human Rights Association (İHD) and İHD member Ali Çalışkan went to see them, they were beaten and taken into custody, too.

On 6 October 2007, a police team wanted to check the ID of two 16-17-year olds in the Yamanlar neighbourhood of Izmir's Karşıyaka district. When they said that they did not have ID on them, police officers sprayed tear gas into their eyes. Three days alter, E.T. was arrested for resisting the police and taken to a children's prison.

On 12 October 2007, three youths, M.G. (17) ,M.M. (24), and C.B. (27) were taken into custody. The family of C.B. and his cousin M.G. filed a criminal complaint against police officers, saying that the three were beaten at the station.

On 23 October 2007, a police officer shot Emrah Gider in the stomach and killed him, claiming Gider was resisting him. Gider is said to have hit and stabbed a person before.

On 24 November 2007, 20-year-old Baran Tursun, who is alleged not to have stopped the car when the police told him to, was shot dead. Police officer O.A. was sentenced to 2 years 1 month imprisonment in May 2009.

On 8 January 2008, an argument broke out when Hasan Köse (36) asked plain clothes police officers to show their ID. When the argument became more heated, officer C. U. shot in the air. Köse was wounded by the bullet and taken to hospital.

On 28 February, Musa Piroğlu, Doğukan Öci, Mesut Atıcı and Ufuk Duran, members of the Socialist Democracy Party (SDP), argued with the police, who wanted to see their ID. When the four asked why the police wanted to see their ID, the police sprayed tear gas in their faces and took them into custody.

Police interventions at the Newroz celebrations in Izmir's Narlıdere district on 20 March 2008 caused injuries to four people.

In different districts of Izmir, ten people were injured during police interventions of that day. Lawyer Bülent Gözmen from the İHD, who wanted to monitor the situation, was beaten by the police.

On 23 March 2008, people were taken into custody at the Gündoğdu Square in Izmir during Newroz celebrations. 40 of them were arrested on 25 March and taken to prison, and five children sent to a children's prison. Lawyers say that those in detention were tortured and maltreated: "When the children were taken into custody, they were beaten very badly, two of them were injured. One of them was taken to hospital. That child had been beaten so badly that he could not even talk to us. We could only speak the next day. Most of the children were also beaten and maltreated in detention. They were only given food at 8 am and 4.30 pm. The officers did not let us take in the food we had brought. 2-3 of them were sleeping in each bed, and they had not been given blankets. No rules had been obeyed during their detention."

When people hung up wall newspapers in Izmir on 2 May 2008 to protest against the police violence in Istanbul on 1 May, the Izmir police sprayed tear gas at four people and took them into custody.

There are claims that three children, aged 15 and 17, were tortured at the Güzeltepe police station in Izmir's Çiğli district on 9 May 2008. Relatives of D.Ö. and K.K. said they had been taken into detention for "swearing at the police", that D.Ö.'s ear drum had been ruptured by the beatings and that the three had been taken to three different stations and continuously been beaten.

On 15 May 2008, doctor Deniz Yazıcı was beaten and taken into custody during an ID control. He was with an Ahmet Yıldız, who, so the police alleged, was being wanted for drugs and burglary charges. When Yazıcı said that he knew Yıldız and that he was painting his house for him, the police asked for his ID. Yazıcı showed his hospital ID, which the police officer did not believe to be real. The officers beat both Yıldız and Yazıcı, took them to a deserted piece of land and beat them again. At the police station, officers stripped them and beat them again. When they were taken to a hospital for the health report necessary after being taken into custody, Yazıcı was sent to the education and research hospital he works at for treatment. Yıldız, who was released, claims that the officers said to him: "What happened to those shooting Baran Tursun? Nothing will happen to us." Three officers whom Yıldız and Yazıcı filed complaints about for torture have been taken off duty during an administrative investigation.

Nebi Demir was taken into custody at the Izmir metro station on 17 June 2008, because there was a search warrant out against him. When he asked the officers for a cigarette at the Bornova police station, he says he was beaten by three of them, kicked in his face, back and between his legs.

On 3 July 2008, Uğur Olukkaya (22), one of several people alleged to have tried to burgle an office, was shot by the police when he did not obey a police team's order to stop in the Konak district of Izmir. He was taken to hospital.

At 3 am on 14 August 2008, lawyer Amaç Kaya was waiting for his firend Yiğit Bebek to come out of the car park with the car. A police team from the Bornova district asked him for his ID. Kaya said that his wallet was in his friend's car and that he would show his ID when he came. He also said that he was a lawyer, but because he could not show his ID, the police put him in the police vehicle and handcuffed him. When his friend Bebek came, Kaya showed his ID, but the police still took him to the police station. Kaya says that he told the police that he was a lawyer and could thus not be taken into custody. When he demanded to speak to the duty prosecutor, he says he was physically attacked by 8-9 police officers. Bebek witnessed the attacks. He was again attacked when he wanted to speak to the duty chief who had come to the station, and he says that one police officer recorded the beating on his mobile phone. He was later released and filed a criminal complaint.

In the evening of 29 August 2008, Saygı Sönmez (27) was going out to buy cigarettes in Izmir's Narlıdere district. He saw a fight and wanted to separate the parties, but was then taken to the police station by officers who arrived. His sister says that he was refused permission to call his family. When he insisted, one officer held him by his ears and asked where he was from. When he said "Erzincan", he beat him. The officer was wearing a ring, so that Sönmez's cheek bone caved in and two fractures occured in his chin.

Resul Yıldız, leader of the İHD's Izmir branch, was taken into custody at an event he was joining as an observer in the name of the association. One of his ribs was cracked.

On 7 December 2008, so Ömer Ardahan (70), his two sons aged 20 and 25 were tortured and maltreated by the police when they were taken to the police station after an argument with their tenants. A brother of the two was also sworn at and beaten when he asked the police how they could have beaten them. Officers claim that they did not beat the two brothers, but that they resisted the police.

On 11 January 2009, the police used truncheons and tear gas during a basketball match between the local Aliağa Petkimspor and the Galatasaray Cafe Crown teams.

On 6 February 2009, S.K.  (16) and S.K. (19) were taken to the police station by plain clothes officer F.C. (37), who said that they had verbally harrassed his daughter. They were beaten, and the younger S.K.'s ear drum was ruptured as a result.

On 30 January 2009, Cahit İldeniz, Cahit Bayık, Miran Bilgin, Ramazan İldeniz and  Hamza Öztürk were taken into custody. They say they were beaten at the Işıkkent police station, tortured and maltreated, and forced to clean the station. (TK/AG)