News / Turkey

Over 1,500 injured in 2014 Turkey anti-government protests: Rights group

Thursday, 19 March 2015 6:15 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 19 March 2015 7:21 AM ]

Injured protesters lie on the ground as Turkish riot police fire tear gas to disperse demonstrators near Taksim square in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 31, 2014. (© AFP)

A recent report has revealed that Turkish security forces injured more than 1,500 protesters during demonstrations against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in Turkey in 2014.

According to the report, compiled by the Human Rights Association (İHD) and entitled “The 2014 Human Rights Breaches Report,” last year’s police crackdown on anti-government protests in Turkey left 1,539 people, including 112 children, injured, while 11,262 people were detained.

“In the early years of AK Party rule, we witnessed a relative decrease in the police violence. But just a few years before Gezi Park protests, it began to increase again. It’s in parallel with more authoritarianism of the AK Party rule, I believe,” Erkan Saka, a lecturer at Istanbul’s Bilgi University told Press TV on Wednesday.

The report said that a total of 3,401 people were victims of torture, maltreatment, humiliation, or unjust punishment in Turkey in 2014, and 1,021 of those people were subjected to torture or maltreatment while in custody.

“While it is true that the human rights situation is bad across the world, here in Turkey, it’s getting worse. It includes torture, violence and inhumane treatment of protesters and demonstrators. It’s all about politics. Police stations are like torture chambers and prisons are like morgues,” Umit Efe, a human rights activist, told Press TV.

On May 31, 2013, Turkish police broke up a sit-in at Istanbul’s Taksim Square against the controversial proposed demolition of Gezi Park in the city.

Nationwide demonstrations were launched against the ruling AK Party and then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is currently the country’s president, with police using water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets against the demonstrators.

Erdogan, who came under fire over the heavy-handed handling of the demonstrations, described the protesters as vandals, looters or terrorists, and alleged the demonstrations are part of a plot to topple his government.

Eight people died and hundreds were injured in the protests. The Turkish government also arrested many activists, among them high school students, on allegations of inciting unrest.

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