NGOs denounce Turkish Police abuses of earthquake victims

Latest Turkey and Syria earthquake news

ISTANBUL, 12 Feb. (DPA/EP) –

Organizations defending Human Rights have denounced abuses perpetrated by the Police, in particular against alleged looters in the area most affected by the earthquakes that shook southern Turkey last Monday.

“There are many shocking images of police and civilians beating and mistreating those who allegedly looted the ruins after the earthquake,” Human Rights Watch (HRW) Turkey delegate Emma Sinclair-Webb said on Twitter.

In particular, he recalled that the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice have a duty to arrest suspected thieves, but also those who attack other people.

The Diyarbakir Bar Association has denounced an increase in cases of police attacks to “worrying” levels, for which it has asked to take legal measures.

The newspaper ‘Birgün’ has collected the testimony of two men from Hatay who claim to have been beaten by security forces after being mistaken for looters. They assure that they were only looking for medicines for their families.

The Diken news portal has reported that five volunteers were mistreated in Adiyaman, a point that could not be independently verified.