Police violence against Furkan Foundation members in Adana province
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The members of Furkan Foundation, a religious foundation whose eight members are currently arrested, were to hold a protest demonstration for their arrested members in Adana yesterday (March 20).
Police officers intervened against the protest demonstration at Cevat Yurdakul Street in Adana's Seyhan in southern Turkey.
The police violence inflicted on the protestors has caused an outrage on social media. In the videos and images shared by the Foundation, it is seen that protesters were subjected to bludgeon blows, pepper spray and rubber bullets by the police, children were also affected by the pepper spray and some people were wounded as a result of the intervention.
Several people have denounced the incident on social media, including Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, Human Rights Association (İHD) Co-Chair and lawyer Eren Keskin, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) MP Sezgin Tanrıkulu, Future Party Chair Ahmet Davutoğlu and Felicity Party (SP) Chair Temel Karamollaoğlu:
Yere düşmüş insana insafsızca vuruyorlar!!!
— Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu (@gergerliogluof) March 20, 2022
Bu görüntülerin hukuk önünde hesabı verilmez!
Zulümlerine zulüm katıyorlar.
Elbet bu ülkeye hukuk gelecek .@suleymansoylu bu vahşet için açıklama yap derhal!#AdanaEmniyeti pic.twitter.com/6FWsiS1rpQ#AdanaEmniyeti
"They are mercilessly hitting a person who has fallen to the ground!!! These images cannot be brought to account before the law! They are adding atrocity to their atrocity. Justice will surely come to this country. Süleyman Soylu; make a statement about this atrocity immediately!"
Adana'da Furkan Vakfı Gönüllülerine kadın, çocuk ayrımı gözetmeksizin polisin uyguladığı orantısız şiddet kabul edilemez.
— Ahmet Davutoğlu (@Ahmet_Davutoglu) March 20, 2022
Sokak ortasında adeta işkence talimatını polislere hangi akıl verdi? @suleymansoylu
Bu çağdışı görüntüleri yaşatanlar derhal cezalandırılmalıdır.
"The disproportionate police violence inflicted on the Volunteers of Furkan Foundation in Adana without differentiating between women or children is unacceptable. Who instructed the police to commit torture in the middle of the street? Those who caused these uncivilized images must be penalized immediately"
İşkence yapılan kim? Hiç bir önemi yok. İşkence suçtur!!!! https://t.co/Evw4xOF6xX
— Eren Keskin (@KeskinEren1) March 20, 2022
"Who is subjected to torture? It doesn't matter. Torture is a crime!!!"
Furkan Vakfı üyelerine aleni işkence ve kötü muamele yapılması emrini veren #Adana Valisi, Emniyet Müdürü ve bu kamu görevlilerini görevden alacak mısınız, yoksa bu suçu işleyenleri korumaya devam mı edeceksiniz? #AdanaEmniyeti @tcbestepe @RTErdoganpic.twitter.com/a8dgNnDLof
— Sezgin Tanrıkulu (@MSTanrikulu) March 20, 2022
"Will you dismiss the Adana Governor, Security Director and these public officers, who gave an order to publicly torture and mistreat the Furkan Foundation members, or will you keep on protecting the ones who committed this crime?"
Şaşkınlık, daha doğrusu şok içindeyiz
— Temel Karamollaoğlu (@T_Karamollaoglu) March 20, 2022
Ne oldu size anlamakta zorluk çekiyoruz.
Bir dönemin hak arayanlarıydınız, bu dönemin haksızlık edenleri oldunuz.
Bir dönemin mazlumlarıydınız, bu dönemin zalimleri oldunuz.
"We have been appalled, or more precisely, we have been shocked. We are having trouble in understanding what has happened to you. You were the ones seeking rights in one period; you have turned into the ones inflicting injustice in this period. You were the persecuted of one period; you have become the persecutors in this period".
Reactions against Interior Minister Soylu
Alparslan Kuytul, the founder of the Foundation, has tweeted that they were planning to hold a demonstration and press statement in protest against the arrest of the Foundation's eight members, but the Governor's Office of Adana did not put their application into process.
Referring to Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, Kuytul has written, "This is the Turkey of Süleyman Soylu" and added, "There is no freedom of opinion or expression left in a country where there is Süleyman Soylu. The AKP will continue losing as long as Soylu is a minister".
The social media account of the Furkan Foundation has also stated, "We don't want a minister who gives unlawful instructions to the security. Crazed upon the instruction of Soylu, police officers showered the members of Furkan Movement with bludgeon blows".
Investigation launched
While the incident became a trending topic on Twitter with the hashtag "Adana Emniyeti" (Adana Security), Minister of Interior Soylu has announced that an investigation has been launched into the incident:
"Holding illegal demonstrations every week for years, Kuytul's people held an illegal demonstration simultaneously with nevruz in Adana today despite all warnings. Our security forces have long been patiently reacting to all provocations, insults and abuses of Kuytul's people all the time. However, today, it should not have been our method to use disproportionate force despite all provocations, insults and abuses. The necessary investigation has been launched by our Adana Governor's Office."
Statement by the Adana Governor's Office
After Minister Soylu, the Governor's Office of Adana has also released a statement. In the statement, it has been indicated that "37 fellow police officers have been wounded in different body parts during the attack and brawl". The Office has further announced that "two police officers have been detected to use disproportionate force to disperse the related people and an investigation has been launched into the matter".
The statement of the Governor's Office has also recalled that "an event was organized under the leadership of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) as part of Nevruz celebrations" and indicated that "Furkan's people, without getting any permission, called on people to hold an illegal event in an area very close to the area where the Nevruz event was to be held".
According to the statement, a group of 1,500-2,000 thousand people from the Foundation "wanted to march in groups in 9-10 spots of the province at 2 pm" local time in Turkey yesterday. The Governor's Office has said that while the members of the foundation "were told that the event was illegal and they were urged to disperse, they insisted on holding the event".
"This group has been holding illegal marches for months and the group was treated with tolerance every time, with no force used," it has said, adding, "But, in the recent period, the demonstrations have started to disturb the public order and affect the daily life in the city."
Reiterating that "the group was reminded that the event was illegal and they were urged to disperse", the Governor's Office has said, "Gradual interventions were made against the groups who did not disperse despite the warnings and the groups were dispersed. Interventions were made against some groups that did not want to disperse in various places of the city".
The Office has accused these groups of "not abiding by the warnings and resisting and attacking the police officers on duty".
Noting that 37 officers have been wounded, the Office has said that one of the officers has had his/her leg broken, adding that "two police officers have been detected to use disproportionate force to disperse the related people and an investigation has been launched into the matter". (TP/SD)