The Baran Tursun Foundation released its report titled “Report on Violations of Right to Life as a Result of Disproportionate Use of Force by Law Enforcement Officers-They Didn't Have to Die”. The 59-page report was prepared by human rights activists by Mehmet Tursun and Dr. Günal Kurşun. The report stated that, “404 civilians, including children, who were not political activists in most cases, did not use violence against the police or did not clash with the police were killed.” The cases in the report covered the deaths that occurred after the extension of the power of the police to use weapons in 2007 .

POLICE USE WEAPONS TO KILL

The report said, "According to the article 16 of the law of police powers, ‘If a police officer encounters resistance while performing duty, she/he is authorized to use force to break this resistance’. Within the scope of the authority to use force, the law says that weapons can be used according to the nature and degree of resistance and in a way to neutralize those who resist when physical force, material power and legal conditions are met.

Following the amendments made in the law of police powers in 2007 and 2015, it has been observed that the violations of the right to life have increased significantly as the police resorted without hesitation to their increased powers in using firearms. The police officers, who are supposed to use their gun as the "last resort" as the law stipulates, attribute some meanings to abstract concepts such as reasonable suspicion, foresight and appreciation over which they do not have enough training, and use their gun almost as the "first option" leading to fatal results.”

The report revealed that 93 children, 70 women and 241 men have been killed in the last 14 years.