Police 'Hospitality' For Visiting Lawyer

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 4 September 2018)


1) lawyer arrives at the police station. 2) having a smoke in the
courtyard. 3) police chief slaps her hand with club. 4) police 
points a gun at her. 5) cleaning lady does the same.

A police chief at the police station in Bayrampaşa, Istanbul, beat a
female lawyer with a club before pointing a gun at her.  The lawyer
had come to the police station to participate in a statement given by
a suspect. Based on the lawyer's subsequent complaint, the police
chief and 3 others were suspended.

Before the suspect gave his statement, the lawyer was subjected
to violence by the police chief when she went to the courtyard to
have a cigarette.  Sitting across from each other in the courtyard,
the police chief and the lawyer began to converse, with the subject
of beatings at the police station being raised.  According to the
lawyer, the police chief said "We've beaten up lots of lawyers here.
Shall we beat you up, too?"  The police chief then told one of his
men to bring a club.

A couple of minutes later, two clubs were brought to the police
chief, who examined them.  He gave one back and began to slap
the hand of the lawyer with the other.  Finding this insufficient,
the police chief had one of his men bring a gun and put a bullet
into the chamber, firing it.  Video footage of the scene showed
one of the policemen covering his ears because of the sound of
the shot.

The police chief went into the police station, leaving the gun
on top of an air conditioner in the courtyard.  A cleaning lady
picked up the gun and pointed it at the frightened lawyer, who
fled into the police station.  A policeman took the weapon from
the cleaning lady and left the courtyard. 

Hours later the lawyer participated in the suspect's statement
hearing and then went to the office of the public prosecutor to
file a complaint against the Bayrampaşa police chief and his
men.  As a consequence, the police chief and 3 of his men were
suspended from duty.


            Bayrampaşa district of Istanbul.