Police Introduces “Keeping Out By Lying on Floor” Concept

Istanbul Police authorities released a statement regarding 18 students who were photographed lying on the floor handcuffed in reverse fashion, saying that they were “kept out by lying on the floor” in order to maintain their own security. 

On April 1, gunshots were heard around 5:45 pm local time outside Istanbul’s Police Headquarters in Vatan Street.  

After the incident, Istanbul Governor Vasip Şahin released a statement, informing that “one woman carrying a bomb and weapon was shot dead". The asssaillants were then identified as two militants of Revolutionary People's Liberation Front (DHKC) - a leftist armed organization designated as "terrorist" by Turkey, EU and the U.S.  

The aforementioned students, on the other hand, reportedly ran away from the clashes in Istanbul Police Headquarters who were later on halted by the police.

“We found refuge in the parking lot of the adjacent tax office building. Then we were held by plain cloth policemen who handcuffed us in reverse fashion,” one student told bianet yesterday. 

Istanbul Police Headquarters released a statement on its official website, explaining the incident.

“The [student] group who were protesting the detention of their friends were kept out by lying on the floor in order to maintain their own security,” the statement said. (BK/BM)

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.