Video reveals Turkish police forcing detained lawyer to give fingerprints

ISTANBUL

Taylan Tanay (C) is seen refusing to give his fingerprints, saying police registrations already had his examples. Screen captured from a video revealed by daily Radikal.

A video record that shows a member of Turkey’s Progressive Lawyers’ Association (ÇHD) being forced to give his fingerprints under police custody was revealed on Dec. 13.

ÇHD Istanbul department head Taylan Tanay was detained on Jan. 18 on allegations of having close links to the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) and “administrating and making the propaganda of a terrorist organization.”

In the video revealed by daily Radikal, Tanay is seen refusing to give his fingerprints, saying police registrations already had his examples. But police officers continue to try to convince him, saying the procedure is necessary for the new electronic fingerprint system. After a short discussion, five police officers are seen forcing Tanay to the ground with his face down, taking his fingerprints as he starts shouting “Human dignity will beat torture.”

As Tanay accuses the police officers of torture, one police chief denies torturing him and says they are just doing their job. “It’s been years since we last did torture,” he adds.

The ÇHD is an organization that provides judicial support to victims in major contemporary human rights abuse cases.