Turkish police batter man during Green Left Party's election office opening, detain him afterwards

Turkish police on April 9 battered a man for refusing to show his ID card during the opening ceremony of the Green Left Party's (YSP) election office in the southern Osmaniye province. A day later on April 10, they detained him at his house. The YSP became the leftist opposition HDP's backup party for the upcoming elections as the HDP faces risk of closure.

Monday April 10 2023 09:05 pm

Duvar English

Turkey's Green Left Party (YSP) kicked off its election campaign in the Mediterranean Osmaniye province and held an election office opening ceremony in the Yunusemre neighborhood on April 9.

The police surrounded the area where the ceremony was held with barriers and subjected the people who wanted to attend the opening to identity checks.

A young man named Ganivar Eye was beaten and temporarily held by the police after he objected to the security procedures. In the footage of the incident, two policemen are seen taking Eye by the arm while an oncoming policeman punches him.

Eye was released after public outcry in the scene; nonetheless, he was taken into custody early on April 10 at his house in the Yunusemre neighborhood, according to the daily Evrensel. He was taken to the police station after a health check.

Green Left Party Provincial Co-Chair Müslüm Çağan stated that it was a civilian police officer who threw the punch toward Eye and that they will file a criminal complaint against the treatment against their members.

The YSP become a back-up party of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) for the elections on May 14 due to the closure case against the party at the Constitutional Court. The HDP has been criminalized by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for a long time and its party members often face ill-treatment by the security forces.