Police violence in Diyarbakir captured in video

Police violence in Diyarbakir captured in video
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Two police officers who beat a young man in Turkey’s Southeastern Diyarbakir province during a police control were laid off temporarily by the governor

Several police officers in Diyarbakir were captured on video while exerting unnecessary violence on a young Kurdish man who was on his way to a mosque for prayer when he was stopped by the police, Mezopotamya News Agency reported.

The video, filmed on December 28 secretly from a nearby window, clearly shows police officers hitting the face of Emre Altunteri several times, once beating his head to a wall behind.

Altunteri said he was late for the prayer before the police harassment. In the video an officer is heard asking Altunteri from where he takes his courage and Altunteri responds: “From God.”

Altunteri was detained by the police, stood before court and jailed for one day before being released, Mezopotamya said.

After the video circulated on social media, Diyarbakir Governor announced that two police officers were lashed off temporarily.

The statement by the governor said Altunteri had a knife and one of the police officers had a cut in his finger while he was trying to take the knife from him.

The police control in southeastern cities for criminal record check known as “GBT” spark reactions when exercised too frequently. Lawyers say police need a substantial suspicion for a check but they use it without any reason, blatantly.