soL: ‘Standing men’ grow in number

A man has been standing in Taksim Square for hours. He is “the standing man”…

Update 17:30
Taksim Square as of now

Similarly, “the standing man” in front of the Sabah-ATV building, a prominent pro-government newspaper and TV, has been continuing his protest for hours.

Update 15:00
“Standing men” in Çağlayan Court House and in front of NTV
The” standing man” protest initiated by Erdem Gündüz in Taksim Square last night, is spreading rapidly. He was standing still protested the gradually intensifying government attack on the Gezi Resistance by standing still last night in Taksim Square,

Çağlayan- Atrium of Çağlayan Court House

Today, in the atrium of Çağlayan Court House, 20 people, many of whom were lawyers, joined the “Standing man” protest. The protest, started by 6 lawyers around 12:00 had also suppor from some citizens. The “standing man” protest ended at 13:30.

Similarly, people protested standing in silence in Maslak.

Maslak

In front of NTV building

In front of Sabah newspaper

Update 13:15
The “standing man” protest, which began last night in Taksim continued this morning with new participants. Five people standing still in silence were taken into police custody.

Update 12:46
The protest initiated by Erdem Gündüz in Taksim was perpetuated by 3 people, including one woman. The police performed identity checks on these people.

Alican Birteksöz,20, has similarly started a protest in front of the bull statue in Kadıköy by standing still. The young man’s protest was supported with applause from some citizens.

Update 03:02
The heroic Turkish police who freed Taksim from standing men and women:

Update 02:39
“The standing man” currently on İstiklal Street:

Update 02:31
Due to reaction from the public, “the standing man” was not taken into custody, but moved away from the square instead. In his statement, he said: “I am a performance artist. I want to get the attention of mainstream media. Four people died, but the media was silent! I want this set-up to change. People ask PM to resign but this is not enough. This is an outcry! But they did not hear this outcry! This event is the consequence of a 10-year journey. The parties responsible for the death of four people should be held accountable. The riot police was getting ready to intervene. I ended it so that people wouldn’t get hurt. I am one person. Tomorrow, someone else will come and stand. And this will go on… I stood to publicize the pain and the deaths. Someone else could have stood! The standing man is not just one person.”

Update 02:10
Approximately 100 policemen approached the “standing man” and other people standing still in Taksim. They held the “standing man” by the arm and forced him into the police-bus to be taken into custody. The soL reporter at the scene heard the announcement “Release him around Karaköy” from the police radio. In response to the protests, “the standing man” was released, but as of now, he is not standing in the square. On the other hand, 15-20 more standing men were also taken into custody. The crowd in the square is now about 200 people.

Update 01:56
The police prepared for an intervention against the circle of people formed around “the standing man”. “The standing man” along with some others was taken into custody.

Update 01:41
People moved away from the standing man. A circle was formed with a diameter of 20 meters. The standing man was, along with some, reporters in the middle of that circle.

Update 01:28
A woman is standing still in Güvenpark, Ankara, at the spot where Ethem Sarısülük was shot.

Update 01:15
The police approached people standing in groups of five.

Update 01:13
The police called for the crowd to “disperse”, giving them a 20-minute-notice. People are directing all except the standing man towards the entrance of İstiklal Stret.

Update 01:08
“The standing man” increases.

A man has been standing for hours in Taksim Square, which has been closed to public after the attacks by the Justice and Development Party (AKP). The man standing facing the Atatürk Culture Center since 20:00 stands still, in front of the puzzled looks of the police. The name of “the standing man” is Erdem Gündüz.

“The standing man” is receiving massive support with “standing men” increasing in the square. In social media, the #duranadam hashtag has, as of now, entered the World Trend list on Twitter.