In November 2007, 26-year-old Feyzullah Ete was sitting in a park in Avcılar, Istanbul. According to eye witnesses, an officer from a plain clothes police team kicked him in the chest. Ete died of his injuries.

Friend acquitted, officer charged

Lawyer Murat Naz told bianet that police officer Ali Mutlu was accused of “deliberately causing death” at a hearing at the Bakırköy  10th Heavy Penal Court in Istanbul on 10 February.

Ali Yavuz Oturakçı, who was sitting in the park with Ete and who witnessed the attack, had been accused of “resisting the police”. The prosecution demanded acquittal for Oturakçı, arguing there was no case for such an accusation.

The court case has been postponed in order for the defence lawyers to prepare.

Police bullet for traffic argument

Meanwhile, another case of police violence has emerged. On the night from 9 to 10 February, car driver Halil Efe (22) was driving from Ankara towards Samsun with three friends, when an argument started between him and a plain clothes police officer, also in a car, about making way.

When Efe parked his car, police officer Musa S., who has been on duty for four years at the Ankara riot police unit, also got out of the car. He shot randomly, and one bullet hit Efe in the stomach. The police officer got in his car and fled.

Efe is unconscious and his condition is still life-threatening. The police officer has been caught and arrested. (TK/EZÖ/AG)