Police violence the revolt; Occupy Taksim Square

Tension remained high in Turkey on Wednesday morning on the sixth day of protests against the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Again, thousands of people took to the streets of Istanbul and Ankara. Despite the "apology" from the government to victims of police brutality the previous day, thousands of protesters stormed at night Istanbul's Taksim Square, where they chanted slogans calling for the resignation of the Prime Minister. Apologies all necessary that the repression of forces is in the viewfinder.

Indeed, those are the police violence, as thousands of people, led Tuncay Alcpinar to occupy Taksim Square. At age 39, he was a victim of false imprisonment. He spent the year 2011 in detention. Overnight, he was arrested, accused of drug trafficking, and imprisoned twelve months without trial, without any presumption of innocence.

"I had to wait a year in prison. A year there is finally a confrontation in court with a police officer. It happened. He did not even look at me. He just said that n was not me, "testifies to the Turk in Europe one microphone. According to him, the Islamic-conservative power has increased repression. "Since Erdogan (Prime Minister, ed) is in power, it became systematic. They put you in jail. Then they ask you to take care of yourself to prove that you're not guilty. Only not possible, such a system, "laments Tuncay Alcpinar.

For several days, the police are in the viewfinder, accused of brutality against protesters. "You see the events: the police violence hit hard but it always ends up staying in prison violence is psychological And that remains forever.." Said the Turk, told Europe 1. Tuncay Alcpinar is far from alone. It is well aware when discussing with students on the barricades. Too familiar with the problem: more than 2,800 of them are currently in prison in Turkey.

ankara , istanbul , protests , taksim , Turkey , Turkish

Taksim Square - Turkey Spring; Violent clashes in Istanbul

The tension rose a notch in the night. Turkish police used tear gas Saturday morning near the Taksim Square in central Istanbul to disperse hundreds of protesters in second day of violent protests against the Turkish government..

Other incidents reported to Besiktas

After a long face-to-face with protesters who held a barricade in the Istiqlal Avenue, a pedestrian shopping street that leads to Taksim Square, the police fired a volley of tear gas to disperse the crowd . Other incidents were reported earlier in the morning in the Besiktas district, where a group of protesters came from the Anatolian side of the Turkish metropolis crossed a bridge over the dam and was dispersed by the police, Turkish media reported.

The protest, one of the largest directed against the Islamic-conservative power since taking office in 2002, is part of a demonstration against an urban development project challenged in Istanbul and several dozen wounded dozens Friday in Istanbul.

By late morning, the main roads leading to Taksim Square were barred by large police forces. After a day and a night of riots, this place famous for being one of the traditional appointment of protest in Istanbul, and the surrounding streets were littered with debris Saturday morning and shops have reopened their doors very carefully to residents and tourists. Dozens of protesters were injured in clashes on Friday, citing Amnesty International for its part "over a hundred" injured.

Political protest

The authorities gave no accurate count. Friday late afternoon, the governor of the city Huseyin Avni Mutlu merely indicate that 12 people remained hospitalized late in the day, including a woman who has a fractured skull, and at least 63 people were arrested.

The movement began Friday at dawn with the forceful intervention of the police to dislodge a few hundred activists who had occupied for three days Gezi Park in Taksim Square, in order to prevent the uprooting of 600 trees as part of an urban development project highly contested.

Rioted through social networks, community activists flocked to lend a hand to protesters and denounce the policy of the Islamic-conservative government in power since 2002. The clashes continued until dawn. "The trees, it's just the straw that broke the camel's back. People are sick and tired of everything this government is doing to them, "said the night a young protester.

By Friday evening, the challenge side of Istanbul has spread to other cities, such as Izmir (west), Antalya (south) or the capital Ankara, which are incident between the police to demonstrators who wanted march on parliament. Everywhere, the protesters denounced the repression in Istanbul and accused Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of violations of civil liberties.

Erdogan accused of trying to "Islamize" Turkish society

The political opposition has taken over these criticisms by flaunting the protesters. The chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP), the main rival of the government, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Erdogan called the police to withdraw the streets of Istanbul. At the call of social networks and the CHP, a protest is planned for Saturday afternoon on the Asian side of Istanbul.

If the per capita income has tripled in Turkey since the coming to power of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2002, Erdogan is accused of authoritarian excesses and wanting to "Islamize" Turkish society. Last week, the passing of a law restricting the sale and consumption of alcohol has raised the ire of liberal circles. Silent on these events since Friday, the head of the government said on Wednesday it would not back down. "Do what you want, we decided," he shouted to his critics.

Government , istanbul , Recep Tayyip Erdoğan , spring , taksim , Turkey

ECHR; Ümit Diriöz Turkey (No: 38560/04)

The fact that the prosecutor stood on a raised platform in the courtroom did not infringe the principle of equality of arms.
In today’s Chamber judgment in the case Diriöz v. Turkey (application no. 38560/04), which is not final1, the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been:
No violation of Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (c) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The case concerned the complaint by an accused that there had been an infringement of the principle of equality of arms in so far as the prosecutor stood on a raised platform whereas he and his lawyer had been placed, as was the rule, at a lower level in the courtroom. The Court considered that whilst this conferred a privileged physical position on the prosecutor in the courtroom, it did not place the accused in a disadvantageous position regarding the defence of his interests. The Court also reiterated that neither the letter nor the spirit of Article 6 of the Convention prevented a person from waiving of his or her own free will the right to legal assistance during police custody.

Principal facts
The applicant, Ümit Diriöz, is a Turkish national who was born in 1977 and is currently being held in Bayrampaşa Prison in Istanbul (Turkey). On 9 September 2000, during an altercation between several individuals, he fired a pistol several times. Four people were injured and a fifth, who had had nothing to do with the altercation, was hit by a stray bullet and subsequently died. On 12 October 2000 the public prosecutor issued an arrest warrant against Mr Diriöz, who had fled.
On 14 January 2001 Mr Diriöz was arrested while in possession of a forged identity card and placed in police custody. The custody report signed on that day indicated that he had been informed, among other things, of his right to legal assistance. In his statement drawn up on 16 January 2001 Mr Diriöz ticked the box “I do not wish to be assisted by a lawyer”.

echr , Government , Italy , istanbul , law , national , news , principle , prison , Switzerland , Turkey

Koç and Demir Turkey (26793/08)

Koç and Demir v. Turkey (no. 26793/08). The applicants, Coşkun Koç and Turgay Demir, are Turkish nationals who were born in 1972 and 1977 respectively and live in Istanbul.

At the relevant time they were respectively a non-commissioned officer and a sergeant in the armed forces. On different dates they were placed in detention as a disciplinary measure. They complain that those sanctions were imposed by their military hierarchy and not by an independent and impartial tribunal. They rely on Articles 5 (right to liberty and security), 6 (right to a fair hearing) and 13 (right to an effective remedy).

Articles , echr , istanbul , liberty , national , nationals , Turkey

Obama discusses regional upheaval with Erdogan

US President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have agreed that peoples' demands for legitimate and natural democratic rights should be recognized by their leaders, as political upheaval continues to rock the Middle East, from Egypt to Tunisia and from Lebanon to Yemen.

Obama initiated a telephone conversation with Erdoğan on Saturday night, the Turkish prime minister's press office said in a written statement released on Sunday.

President Barack Obama stated that he attaches importance to assessing new developments in the region with Prime Minister Erdoğan as the leader of Turkey, which has strong democratic customs in the region, and as a leader who came to power by gaining successful election results many times, the statement said, noting that the two leaders reached consensus that the legitimate and natural rights of the people of the region should be provided for and their calls for democracy should be heeded.

ankara , capital , echr , Human rights , istanbul , Obama , Political , Recep Tayyip Erdoğan , Turkey , United States