Police in Ankara, Izmir and Istanbul attack events paying tribute to Suruç victims

Police in Ankara, Izmir and Istanbul attacked the events held to pay tribute to those killed in the ISIS attack in Suruç and arrested numerous people.

Police in Ankara, Izmir and Istanbul attacked the events held to pay tribute to those killed in the ISIS attack carried out on 20 July 2015 in Suruç. Many people were taken into custody at the three events organized by the alliance “Youth Organizations”.

In Ankara, the police intervened a demonstration in Güvenpark. Young people were demanding "Justice for Suruç, justice for all". Numerous participants were taken into custody.

A demonstration in Izmir-Karşıyaka, which saw the participation of HDP MPs Murat Çepni and Serpil Kemalbay, was also banned and attacked. However, the crowd did not dissolve and chanted: "The day will come when times will change and the AKP will have to answer to the people." When activists tried to break through the police line, many of them were taken into custody.

In the Istanbul district of Kadiköy, the “Suruç Families Initiative” created by relatives of the dead and survivors of the massacre, read a public statement in Halitağa Caddesi. The Youth Alliance then wanted to go to the Süreyya Opera to hold a memorial rally there. The march was stopped with tear gas. Some demonstrators fled to the HDP district association and were attacked there again by the police with tear gas. Journalist Fatoş Erdoğan from the Dokuz Sekiz broadcaster, who reported on the memorial, was injured in the arm in the police attack and was taken to hospital.