Riot police once again cracked down on protesters who gathered outside Istanbul City Hall for a sixth night Monday, and also roughly dispersed a student sit-in on Galata Bridge spanning the Golden Horn estuary, AFP correspondents and media reports said.
The unrest has continued despite a ban on protests in Türkiye’s three biggest cities, with the interdiction in Ankara extended until Apr 1, the governor said Tuesday.
AMNESTY: “POLICE VIOLENCE DEEPLY SHOCKING”
Footage of the police crackdown has drawn a sharp response from rights groups.
Europe’s top rights body, the Council of Europe, issued a statement expressing concern about the “disproportionate use of force by the police”, also referring to the crackdown on journalists.
London-based rights watchdog Amnesty International also demanded an immediate halt to police violence, saying it had reviewed footage which was “deeply shocking”.
“The use of unnecessary and indiscriminate force by police against peaceful protesters in Türkiye must immediately stop,” Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard said on Monday.
It cited use of pepper spray, tear gas, water cannon and plastic bullets – “sometimes fired at close range at the face and upper body” – calling for a prompt investigation into such “unlawful acts of violence”.
