You’ve probably seen the pictures and wondered, “what the heck is going on in Turkey?”
Police brutality is what.
What started as a peaceful rally in Taksim Square turned into a violent police crackdown two weeks ago when protestors were trying to prevent a redevelopment project that would replace the green space with a replica Ottoman Barracks.
Those protests grew into a wider demonstration against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s authoritarian rule. Now, on the 12th day of protest, Erdogan has lost his patience and ordered riot police to enter the square and force them out.
Resorting to water cannons, brutal violence, rubber bullets and tear gas, the police are terrorizing the protestors, flexing Erdogan’s power and injuring dozens.
Our thoughts are with the victims of this violence, and those protestors fighting for what they believe in.
We’ve collected some disheartening photographs from the riots, but first thing’s first – this heartbreaking video of riot police targeting a man in a wheelchair.
PHOTO SOURCE: Getty
