Police Violence in Public Transport

Özgür Benol and Mine Selin Sayarı claimed to have been beaten by three people, one of them a plainclothes police officer, on the public metro bus in Istanbul on 14 October.

Benol and Sayarı said they were attacked by one plainclothes police officer, her husband and her sister when they were discussing amongst each other on the concept of justice and injustice. Benol and Sayarı complained about the police officer and her companions.

Benol and Sayarı talked to bianet about their experiences on the metro bus and at the police station.

Both Benol and Sayarı are fourth-grade students at the Istanbul University Faculty of Law. They apparently discussed the concept of justice in an ordinary tone of voice.

Özgür Benol said that the plainclothes police officer who was on the bus as well was disturbed by their conversation and found an excuse to attack them.

Mine Sayarı put forward that they were attacked because the plainclothes police officer disagreed with their ideas which the policewoman then tried to cover with playing the role of a sort of honour watchdog.

Benol recalled that he was leaning on the same pole in the bus and that the policewoman had warned them because of physical contact.

Even though he avoided contact after that, the police officer told her companions that they talked about her in a threatening and abusive manner.

However, when the metro bus suddenly slowed down, Benol said that his friend touched the policewoman.

"The policewoman said 'I am a police officer, did I not tell you not to touch each other'. Then she pulled my friend's hair and beat her. Also the man started beating, it was her husband apparently which I was not aware of, I did not even look at him. The man punched my friend with his fist", Benol remembered.

After that, the sister of the policewoman attacked Sayarı again. Benol apparently shouted at the attackers and was beaten by the husband of the police officer thereupon. He was pushed to the floor and supposedly kicked into his face.

Inimidated witnesses

Benol indicated that initially many people offered to testify but that these people were not taken into consideration by the police officers who came to the bus stop and who were present at the police station later on.

According to Benol, only one witness was left by the time the police gave them their attention.

Both Benol and Sayarı obtained medical reports from hospital. Benol got injured at his face, his nose and his eye.

Sayarı suffered from several bruises all over ther body and from hair that was torn out. Benol indicated that they were made to wait at the police station before they could go to hospital and that they waited again after they had returned from hospital.

The incident happened in the morning. However, Benol and Sayarı could only leave the police station in the evening. Benol stated that his eye was in very bad condition but that despite his insistence no photographs were taken.

Joint statement

Lawyer Gülderen Ertaş, mother of Benol, said that an investigation was launched without speaking to the witnesses. She claimed that the incident had not been properly evaluated and that the police did not determine the names of the witnesses. Ertaş furthermore criticized that the statements of the three attackers were taken altogether at the same time. (YY)