The Constitutional Court (AYM) evaluated the police intervention against the commemoration protest in Ankara on the anniversary of the Suruç Massacre in 2019 as a violation of rights. In the decision, it was stated that law enforcement officers used disproportionate violence and violated the right to assembly and demonstration.
The applicants were detained and beaten during the commemoration they organized on July 20, 2019 on Sakarya Street in Ankara. The physical damage caused by the police intervention was documented in forensic reports. However, the prosecutor’s office had decided not to prosecute public officials.
In its decision dated 2 May 2024, the Constitutional Court emphasized that the intervention was contrary to the principle of necessity and proportionality and that the investigation was ineffective. It also ruled that the right to assembly was unlawfully restricted on the grounds of the state of emergency.
The court ordered the applicants to pay non-pecuniary damages and stated that the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office should have conducted an effective investigation.
Furthermore, the Ankara Regional Administrative Court found it unlawful not to process complaints against public officials without a preliminary examination and annulled this decision.
14.05.2025
Sendika.org