Turkish police to pay less than $1000 in 20 installments for beating Kurdish youth

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The prosecutor charged the officers with "causing simple injury" but lawyers claim that this failed to capture the true essence of the crime committed.

Four Turkish police officers who assaulted and beat two Kurdish youth in the Nusaybin district of Turkey’s southeastern Mardin province have been handed a mere slap on the wrist on Sunday as the court sentenced them to pay 18,000 TL (less than 1000 US dollars) in 20 installments.

Two young Kurds on December 31, donning their traditional attire, fell victim to a vicious assault by four special operations police officers as they returned from a joyous family celebration.

The legal proceedings that followed this heinous crime were eagerly anticipated by the lawyers and rights organizations, but what unfolded in the Nusaybin Court left a bitter taste in the mouths of those seeking accountability.

The prosecutor charged the officers with "causing simple injury" but lawyers claimed that this failed to capture the true essence of the crime committed.

“This was not a mere act of violence but a calculated, sadistic act of torture fueled by hatred and discrimination,” the lawyers from the Association of Advocates for Freedom said.

They argued that the court should have recognized the gravity of this atrocity, transferring the case to a higher court equipped to handle crimes of this magnitude. But the court dismissed their requests and proceeded with a lighter verdict.

On top of this, the punishment, A fine of 18,000 Turkish lira bestowed upon the offenders is divided into paltry 20 installments. Such a meager penalty undermines the very foundations of justice and sends a dangerous message to the community at large - that those in positions of power can violate the law with impunity, lawyers said.