During the Gezi Park protests in Turkey, police forces repeatedly used excessive force to prevent and disperse peaceful demonstrations. [1] As a result, it is estimated that there were 22 fatalities [2] [3] and least at least 8,163 injuries, of which 63 in serious or critical condition. [4]
The Turkish Medical Association reported on 4 June that 4177 people were reported as wounded in Turkey, 43 of these being heavily wounded and 3 in a critical condition. These people, including "a large number of citizens who lost their eyes", were injured as a result of water cannons and close-range shots from tear gas canisters and plastic bullets aimed directly at them. [5] Amnesty International said water cannons had been targeted at peaceful protesters, while "the inappropriate use of tear gas by police has been the most devastating on the safety of demonstrators, causing an unknown number of injuries, including serious head injuries when the canisters hit protestors." [6] Police were reported to have disguised their ID numbers. [7] [8] Human Rights Watch also condemned this misuse of tear gas. [9]
According to a report of the Turkish Medical Association on 15 July, there were at least 8,163 injured people with at least 63 in serious or critical condition and with at least 3 of them having a risk of death. [4]
A total of 14 people as of 14 September, lost an eye due to tear gas canisters and rubber bullets. [10] [11]
About 200 people received head and brain traumas caused mostly by teargas canisters and baton blows. [4] [12]
According to the Turkish Medical Association, 1 person lost their spleen, caused by extreme police violence. [13]
Most of those killed were members of the Alevi minority. [91]
Ümit Kocasakal, head of Istanbul Bar Association, stated in his speech that they received 146 missing person reports (39 women and 107 men) during the first three weeks of demonstrations. 137 people out of 146 have been found. The remaining 9 people, on the other hand, were still missing as of 25 June 2013. [92] [ needs update ]
On 4 June's night, a lorry driver named Hakan Yaman who was not related to the protests that time was beaten and thrown into a fire near the area by the riot police leading him to wound brutally and lose his one eye and most of his skin to burn. His family appointed to the court for torture and unlawful police action with video evidence. [93]
On 26 June (United Nations International Day of Fight Against Torture and in Support of Victims of Torture), a common statement was made at the Izmir Bar Association in Izmir. Officers of the Izmir Bar Association (İzmir Barosu), the Contemporary Jurists Association ( [ tr ]), the Turkish Human Rights Foundation ( [ tr ]) and the Human Rights Association ( [ tr ]) reported that a total of 169 people had applied to the Turkish Human Rights Foundation's treatment and rehabilitation centers because of ill-treatment and police torture. [94]
On 26 October's evening, during the high-tension times before the Republic Day, while the national protests for Middle East Technical University continue, a student of METU, was beaten and thrown into the barricade fire which the protesters lit by the riot police, during the latest protests that occurred after the forest was cleared with a night-time operation on 18 October and after students with the participation of the rector Professor Doctor Ahmet Acar, deans and other officials of the university, planted 3017 trees again in a rejoicing way on 25 October, one week after the Ankara Municipality workers entered and chopped down the forest without permission, [95] in the cleared area with wide support across country, mostly in Istanbul, İzmir, other districts of Ankara, Antalya and other universities across Turkey, [95] in and near METU's forest, Ankara, leading his skin to burn seriously. [39] [96]
On 27 June's night, a 31-year-old female named Eylem K., who attended the night's protests in Ankara, was taken into custody by riot police with 10 other people, including a boy under 18. On 28 June, in front of the Ankara Courthouse, she reported that she was subject to violence, sexual harassment and torture in the police car where she was detained. She also stated that she was threatened with rape and torture continued for almost 2 hours in 2 different cars. [97] [98]
Police gas and blast bombs killed many animals as well. Stray dogs, cats and birds in particular have died of heart attacks or gas poisoning. Acclaimed Turkish director Zeki Demirkubuz tweeted that "I have seen birds falling off the trees because of the gas." There were mobile animal hospitals in and around Gezi Park during the protests, but after protests many veterinaries refrained to give testimonies. Freedom to Earth Association has noted this self-censor when it attempted to gather different testimonies and photo evidences for injured and killed animals. On 28 September, after exactly four months since protests sparked, the association called for a commemoration for all living beings murdered by Turkish police during the riots. Different groups have attended such as LGBT organizations, anticapitalist Muslims, anarchist block and PEN-International Turkey. However Turkish police have barred this mass to read their press statement, collected ID's from anyone, pushed people with their shields and arrested ones who resisted. After 13 arrests, remaining group have made their rally, read their statement which announced that Turkish state is being taken to Court of Justice for Animal Rights. [99] The complaint [100] was filed with the Court shortly thereafter. [101]
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Yeni Şafak is a conservative, Islamist Turkish daily newspaper. The newspaper is known for its hardline support of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the AK Party and has a very close relationship with the Turkish government. Together with other media organizations in Turkey, it has been accused of using hate speech to target minorities and opposition groups.
LGBT history in Turkey covers the development, contributions and struggles of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the history of Turkey and their relation between Turkish politics from the abolition of the Caliphate to modern-day Turkey.
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A wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Turkey began on 28 May 2013, initially to contest the urban development plan for Istanbul's Taksim Gezi Park. The protests were sparked by outrage at the violent eviction of a sit-in at the park protesting the plan. Subsequently, supporting protests and strikes took place across Turkey, protesting against a wide range of concerns at the core of which were issues of freedom of the press, of expression and of assembly, as well as the AKP government's erosion of Turkey's secularism. With no centralised leadership beyond the small assembly that organised the original environmental protest, the protests have been compared to the Occupy movement and the May 1968 events. Social media played a key part in the protests, not least because much of the Turkish media downplayed the protests, particularly in the early stages. Three and a half million people are estimated to have taken an active part in almost 5,000 demonstrations across Turkey connected with the original Gezi Park protest. Twenty-two people were killed and more than 8,000 were injured, many critically.
Taksim Gezi Park is an urban park next to Taksim Square, in Istanbul's Beyoğlu district. It is one of the last green spaces in Beyoğlu and one of the smallest parks of Istanbul. In May 2013, plans to replace the park with a reconstruction of the former Taksim Military Barracks, intended to house a shopping mall, sparked the nationwide 2013 protests in Turkey.
The following is a timeline of the Gezi Park protests in Turkey of citizens and supporters against actions and plans of the government of Turkey. The timeline is segmented into days.
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The 2013 Gezi Park protests in Turkey saw massive amounts of censorship and disinformation by the mainstream media, especially by those supporting Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP). A poll done by Istanbul Bilgi University in the first week of the protests showed that 84% of the demonstrators cited the lack of media coverage as a reason to join the protests, higher than the 56% of protesters who referred to the destruction of Gezi Park.
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The following lists events in the year 2014 in Turkey.
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