According to accusations by the DHKP-C, or The Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front of Turkey, following a solidarity rally for political prisoners outside the Turkish embassy on November 25, 2021, protesters were collecting their banners to leave when police officers appeared. The police officers started shouting, pushing and beating the protesters and forcing them into police vans where they continued to beat them. Eleven people were taken to the station, and charges were brought against 5. The trial is due to be held on December 2, 2022.
In a state governed by the rule of law, law enforcement authorities must respect human dignity and use force only if the detainee resists arrest or attempts to escape, and only then to the extent necessary to secure arrest.
According to the Code of Criminal Procedure (Article 256) and Presidential Decree 141/1991 (Article 120), the use of force, including handcuffing, is illegal in any other case. These principles are further guaranteed by Presidential Decree 254/2004 (Code of Police Ethics) and in the 2005 Circular issued by the Headquarters of the Hellenic Police Force.
The same circular prohibits arbitrary arrests that occur without any concrete suspicion of a crime having been committed. However, a series of complaints from lawyers alleges that the police often charge detainees with non-existent offenses in order to justify unnecessary police violence, which is in practice arbitrary arrest.
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