European rights body concerned about ‘disproportionate’ force in Turkey protests

Pan-European rights body the Council of Europe has urged Turkey to allow people to freely protest, expressing concern the authorities were using “disproportionate” force against demonstrators after the arrest of İstanbul’s opposition mayor.

Huge crowds of protesters have rallied in İstanbul and other cities in Turkey every night following the March 19 arrest and subsequent suspension of Ekrem İmamoğlu, a potential rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in elections to be held no later than 2028.

Security forces have used water cannons, pepper spray and rubber bullets in a bid to disperse demonstrators, according to Agence France-Presse correspondents.

“I am following with concern the reports about disproportionate use of force by the police and widespread restrictions of the right to receive and impart information in Turkiye in the context of the protests of the last days,” said Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty in a statement late Monday.

“I ask the Turkish authorities to uphold their human rights obligations with regard to respect for freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of expression and media freedom.”

Police have arrested more than 1,130 people over the past six days, including 43 on Monday night, the interior minister said.

Before dawn on Monday, police detained 10 Turkish journalists at their homes, including an AFP photographer, “for covering the protests,” the MLSA rights group said.

“I note with concern reports about attacks against journalists and media workers while they were engaged in their journalistic duties and the arrests of journalists carried out today in raids across a number of cities in connection with their reporting about the protests,” said O’Flaherty.

Turkey is one of 46 members of the Council of Europe and signatory of the European Convention on Human Rights and, as such, is bound by rulings of the body’s court, the European Court of Human Rights. But it has repeatedly defied its rulings in recent years.

© Agence France-Presse