Police crush protesters, block Ankara gathering

ANKARA

The Dikmen district of Ankara was scene of yet another harsh police intervention on June 27. DAILY NEWS photo / Selahattin SÖNMEZ

The Dikmen district of Ankara was scene of yet another harsh police intervention on June 27, with the police not allowing crowds to gather and intervening as early as 10 p.m., using pressurized water and tear gas without warning.

For the past couple of days, Dikmen has played host to confrontations between police and protesters, but the police intervention usually comes around midnight after protesters build barricades in the late hours of the evening. On this particular occasion, the police intervened in advance, after street lights were turned off around 9:30 p.m.

The police used pressurized water and tear gas against people on side streets, without any warning, while a number of protesters were taken into custody. The intervention was particularly intense due to the presence of four Scorpion (Akrep in Turkish) jeeps and three Mass Incident Intervention Vehicles (TOMA). Both Scorpions and TOMAs are armored riot control vehicles, while the former are also used for taking individuals into custody.

Of the 19 people taken into custody during the protests, 13 were arrested, later on to be jailed, Anadolu Agency reported on June 28.

Those held under custody due to a public prosecutor’s demand were interrogated throughout the night from Article 10 of Anti-Terror Law (TMK). Judge Abdullah Bahçeci issued the ruling on the case.

Five of those in custody were released on condition of judicial control, meaning that they will have to report to a police station once a week and are prohibited from travelling abroad. One other person was released without conditions.

Following this wave of arrests, the total number of arrested people over the Gezi protests in Ankara reached a total of 37, Anadolu said.