Woman activist says doctor tried to cover up police violence

A women's rights activist whose leg was fractured while she was arrested by the police during a demonstration in Istanbul on Friday, told about the incident, and said that the doctor who examined her asserted that the fracture should have been caused by a fall and that it could not have been the result of physical violence by the police.

The incident took place as the police attacked a women's gathering near Taksim square on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, using tear gas and arresting over 200 demonstrators.

Polis şiddetine uğrayan TOMİS yöneticisi Dilbent Türker: “Mücadeleye devam edeceğiz”#25KasımdaSokaktayız #25Kasım2022 https://t.co/MLixDXVfOK pic.twitter.com/aB18rim0yu

— ☭ Kızıl Bayrak (@kizilbayraknet) November 26, 2022

"The police stepped on my leg with one foot, and delivered a kick with the other foot," Dilbent Turker said, after her release from custody.

"My leg was fractured in two places. They then took me to the hospital, dragging me with my broken leg (...) The doctor there had me transferred to Baltalimani Hospital, but the police arbitrarily kept me waiting outside for hours."

She continued:

"When I was in Baltalimani Hospital, they prevented me from contacting my lawyer and my family members, and I wasn't able to undergo surgery. My statement was taken at the hospital around midnight."

Turker also said that the doctor in the hospital ruled out a possibility of the fracture being caused by the police's physical violence.

"While I was being examined, the doctor said, 'You must have fallen.' I said it wasn't a fall and that the police broke my leg kicking at it, but the doctor tried to cover up police violence by still saying that 'the fracture cannot be THAT kind of fracture.' The instant was recorded by the police camera, they have the images. The attitude of the doctors have begun to change only after officials of the Turkish Medical Association and members of women's rights groups started calling the hospital."