Istanbul - The Turkish authorities on Friday suspended a police officer after video footage showed him physically forcing a reluctant fellow policeman to fire pepper spray at protesters.
The images of the demonstration by tradesmen in the southern city of Gaziantep on Thursday have gone viral on the Internet in Turkey and become a new symbol of notorious police brutality in the country.
The pictures show that the young officer equipped with the pepper spray cannon was reluctant to use his equipment as police moved in during a tense standoff.
However a superior officer is seen remonstrating with him, pushing him and then physically forcing him to spray the demonstration.
At one point the senior officer, teeth bared, grabs the junior policeman by the scruff of the neck and shouts "fire, man, fire!"
The governor of the Gaziantep region Erdal Ata said in a statement that the senior police officer -- named as C.G.G. -- had been relieved of his duties pending an investigation.
The reason for his removal was the "public outcry caused by his attitude and behaviour", the statement said.
The statement however defended the decision to break up the demonstration, which was against the construction of a new industrial zone in the city.
Turkish police have been repeatedly accused by activists of using excessive force against demonstrators, in particular after the 2013 protests against the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Police are quick to resort to the use of pepper spray, other forms of tear gas and water cannon to rapidly disperse protests they deem illegal.
Activists fear that the climate will deteriorate further if a controversial new government-proposed homeland security bill passes through parliament in the coming weeks.
Under the bill, police would be allowed to arrest and even fire on those suspected of possessing banned objects at protests including Molotov cocktails, stones and other sharp objects.
The deputy parliamentary chief of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Engin Altay said the scenes in Gaziantep indicated there was "a civilian dictatorship in Turkey."
"Anyone who attempts to use his right to react is seen as a potential criminal or terrorist," Altay was quoted as saying by the Hurriyet daily.
AFP
