Amnesty International Says Turkey Government 'as Abusive as Ever'
The Turkish authorities are "as abusive as ever" in their treatment of protesters, rights group Amnesty International said on Tuesday, a year after anti-government demonstrations were brutally repressed across the country.
"The Turkish authorities have been relentless in their crackdown on protesters -- be it police violence on the streets or by prosecuting them through the courts," said Amnesty secretary general Salil Shetty.
In a report following the first anniversary of a wave of anti-government protests and clashes with security forces that killed at least eight people and injured more than 8,000, Amnesty criticized the continued "impunity" of Turkish police.
"Investigations into police abuses have stalled, been obstructed or closed," Amnesty said. "Only five separate prosecutions have been brought against police officers to date."
In contrast, more than 5,500 people have been prosecuted for their roles in the June 2013 protests, it said.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan drew international condemnation for his government's crackdown on protests which began in June 2013 against plans to uproot trees in Istanbul's central Gezi Park.
The police's violent response sparked mass outrage against Erdogan, with demonstrators accusing him of authoritarian rule and seeking to "Islamicize" Turkey.
The premier has branded protesters extremists and last week praised the police's "firm stance" in its forceful dispersal of demonstrations heading to Istanbul's Taksim Square, the epicenter of last year's uprising.
"One year on from the Gezi Park protests, the government's approach to demonstrations is as abusive as ever," Amnesty said.
The rights group also criticized government moves to restrict access to social media that saw popular sites such as YouTube and Twitter blocked in Turkey.
"The Turkish authorities seem to be firmly set on a path of intolerance, conflict and polarization," Shetty said. "Unless checked, this will lead to further violations of human rights in the country."
Source: Agence France Presse
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