The behavior of the police during the Sarajhane protests: the defendants’ accounts in court
Following the operations carried out against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, protests were held in Sarajhane, after which the first court session of 33 defendants was held in the Criminal Court Hall 14 due to the insufficient space in Criminal Court 50.
In the court session, after identifying the defendants, the defense began. One of the defendants, named Ali Haidar Saygli, said: I accept participating in the Sarajhane protests because I consider it a democratic right. I was not even aware of the governorate’s ban decision. No problems or conflicts occurred in that protest. Participating in protests should not be considered a crime. It was also announced on social media that these protests were not forbidden. For such a matter, our homes were raided early in the morning. We were held in detention centers and practically experienced state violence and oppression.
One of the young individuals, describing his experience, said: After my arrest, the police told me, “Are you dead? No, don’t die, because I want to beat you more.” Another officer said, “We will beat you educated people more.” I have been in Istanbul for three months and have not been able to attend my exams and classes.
One of the defendants, who had a motorcycle helmet with him, responded to the court’s question by saying: I brought it with me to prevent theft. Despite not doing anything, I was arrested with beatings. I was thrown to the ground near the walls and handcuffed. One of the police officers kicked me in the head several times with boots. My head hurt for a week and even continued in prison. I did not resist the police and did not throw a water bottle, stone, or anything else.
A young man who was suffering from chronic bronchitis said: Even pollen can worsen my condition, let alone tear gas. I covered my mouth with my scarf. Even the smell of air fresheners can trigger my illness. Another individual stated: We were in Sarajhane, and when the chaos began, we tried to distance ourselves from the area. We even asked a police officer. He said, “Come, I’ll show you.” Then we were arrested and spent a month in prison. If I were a protester, I would have run away and not approached the police. I got a mask from someone because of the tear gas and used it for less than ten minutes. At the time of my arrest, I didn’t even have a mask. We were innocently imprisoned and did nothing to anyone.
