A 27-year-old policewoman was killed and two others were injured during an altercation in İstanbul between police and a suspect with a criminal record, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Monday.
According to Anadolu, the clash took place during an operation conducted by the Ümraniye District Police Department’s Dudullu Police Station to capture 19-year-old Yunus Emre Geçti, who had been arrested on suspicion of motorcycle theft and later escaped.
Police officers identified as Şeyda Yılmaz and K.H.S., along with P.G., the suspect’s mother, were injured after Geçti seized a police officer’s gun and fired indiscriminately. Yılmaz succumbed to her injuries at the hospital, while treatment for the others continued, Anadolu said.
Geçti, who was injured and fled the scene after the attack, was detained by police officers in an alleyway.
The İstanbul Police Department said in a written statement on Monday that an investigation had been launched into Geçti on charges of “murder” and “deliberate injury.”
The suspect was alleged to have had a criminal record for offenses including “deliberate injury, sexual harassment, looting, theft, property damage and sexual abuse of a child,” according to a report by the Gerçek Gündem news website on Monday.
The incident caused a significant backlash on social media, with many accusing the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of responsibility for the police officer’s death. They questioned the motives behind releasing a suspect with multiple criminal offenses at the same time that the government is determined to punish its opponents by keeping them behind bars on politically motivated charges.
“You filled the streets with criminals by issuing amnesty laws. What happened next? Those with 20, 30, 40 or even 50 criminal offenses either harmed innocent citizens or fired at the police and soldiers. Stop shedding crocodile tears and wake up!” an X user with the nickname “Polisin Sesi” (The Police’s voice) said, targeting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s AKP.
Meanwhile, Geçti was transferred to the courthouse in an animal control van on Monday, encased in a black garbage bag. Two female police officers were seen pushing the attacker into the vehicle in a video circulated on social media, a situation that attracted criticism from human rights defenders.
Lawyer Veysel Ok, co-chair of the Media and Law Studies Association, said on X that maltreatment of a person is unacceptable no matter what crime they are accused of having committed. He said such acts do not help the delivery of justice but rather abuse the feelings of the people.
“In Turkey, the rights of a suspect are guaranteed by law, and law enforcement officers must abide by that,” said Ok.
İşkence yapmak, şüpheli hangi suçu işlemiş olursa olsun, insanlığa karşı işlenen bir suçtur ve asla kabul edilemez. Bu tür uygulamalar adaleti sağlamak yerine, sadece kamuoyunun duygularını istismar eder. Türkiye’de bir şüphelinin hakları yasalarla güvence altındadır ve kolluk… https://t.co/BMkxueaHaY
— Veysel OK (@VeyselOkk) September 23, 2024
The suspect in the murder of a policewoman was made to wear a rubbish bag and was then placed in an animal custody vehicle as he was taken to court. What is worse, this treatment will not raise any significant objection.#Torture #Impunity #InhumaneTreatment #Turkey #istanbul pic.twitter.com/vD5qqK4xnX
— The Arrested Lawyers (@ArrestedLawyers) September 23, 2024
In April 2020, shortly after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in Turkey, a total of 100,774 inmates who had five years or fewer left to serve to be eligible for release on parole benefited from a COVID-19 leave from prison program.
The Turkish government was criticized at the time for not allowing the release of prisoners who were jailed on politically motivated charges. The prisoners held in pretrial detention; those convicted under Turkey’s overly broad anti-terrorism laws including journalists, lawyers, political and human rights activists who have been imprisoned merely for speaking out; and even those at heightened risk including older prisoners and those with underlying health conditions convicted under anti-terrorism laws were not allowed to benefit from the prison release law.