Spraying Pepper Gas on Children Not Hazardous, Ministry Says

Responding to an official inquiry, Interior Minister Muammer Güler said that the police intervention with pepper gas during U-14 soccer game did not pose health threat to children. 

CHP deputy Umut Oran, the inquirer, objected the response. 

“What do you mean by saying that no official report proved the permanent hazard of pepper gas? This must be joke since so many people died because of pepper gas including Metin Lokumcu, Çayan Birben,” he said.  

Oran also continued Güler’s remark that nobody was battered. 

“I don’t know how the minister watched the footage. Ikitelli Sports Club President Abdülselam Ceyhan releases a statement, condemning the treatment of 13 year olds this way. He also said they filed complaints on the police officers as they attacked them with gas bombs and batons. I guess the minister have seen the footage of another game, and not this one.”

What happened?

Responding to CHP deputy Oran’s official inquiry, Interior Minister Güler said that the police intervention with pepper gas during U-14 soccer game did not pose health threat to children while nobody was battered. 

“Following the analysis of footage on the incident, we have not detected anything on baton usage. In addition, we were unable to come across with any officially documented report of casualties or permanent damage on human health due to the usage of pepper gas.”  

In May, police intervened a U-14 category soccer game in the central province of Kütahya, using pepper gas and batons against players and sport club administrators. (YY/BM)

* Click here to reach Güler’s response to the inquiry in Turkish.  

* Click here to read the original article in Turkish.