Video of police beating woman raises reactions

İZMİR

The footage shows two civil police officers beating 37-year-old Fevziye Cengiz, while another officer in uniform is watching them. The three accused police officers claimed Fevziye Cengiz resisted and cursed at them, scratching them with her nails.

woman’s claim she was beaten and harassed by law enforcement officers in July has been substantiated by recently obtained camera footage from a police station in the Aegean province of İzmir.

The footage, released to the public by daily Vatan, shows three police officers beating detained 37-year-old Fevziye Cengiz.

Fevziye Cengiz was taken into custody at a music hall she visited with her husband, daughter and other relatives in July. Police officers raided the venue to conduct an identification check and requested the presentation of the family’s ID cards. Fevziye Cengiz’s husband, Murat Cengiz, handed his ID to the police and went outside to retrieve his wife’s ID card from their car parked outside the venue, according to allegations. 

Fevziye Cengiz asked an undercover officer to wait for her husband to bring her ID card, but another officer coming from behind allegedly hit her and said, “Don’t you want to come, [expletive]?” 
Fevziye Cengiz said she was beaten constantly on the way to the police station. Upon arriving at the station, one police officer closed the curtains to hide her from view while other officers beat and harassed her while she was handcuffed and lying on the ground, daily Vatan reported. 


Increasing cases

The three accused police officers claimed Fevziye Cengiz had resisted and cursed at them. They further alleged she pushed and hit them and scratched them with her nails. Proceedings were consequently filed in September against Fevziye Cengiz on the charge of “injuring and insulting a civil servant,” with the prosecution requesting a sentence of between 2.5 and 6.5 years in jail. 

Security camera recordings were released to the prosecutor’s office after Fevziye Cengiz made a complaint. A suit was filed against the officers Nov. 28, but the indictment accused the police only of the charge of “using excessive force,” requesting a sentence of six months to 1.5 years. 
The officers will appear at their first trial Feb. 15.

“The cases of violence applied by the police have increased especially after 2005,” said Metin Bakkalcı, the Human Rights Association’s secretary-general. “Unfortunately, regulations made after 2005 have brought us to this point. Eighty percent of the surveillance camera recordings cannot be found. We only have to work with the 20 percent we have.”