Hakan Yaman’s lawyer and wife stated that he was battered by 5 police officers while passing through a street during the Gezi Park protests in Sancaktepe. They added that he lost an eye due to this violence.
İstanbul – Hakan Yaman, a school bus driver, ‘considered to be a protester’ by the police, was battered and injured in Sancaktepe during the Gezi Park protests on June 4, 2012. In relation to the event, his family filed a formal complaint. The complaint handed to the prosecutor’s office by Yaman’s family, claims that Hakan Yaman, 38, was hit with a gas bomb on his stomach, and an eye was removed with an object. A related video, claimed to have been shot soon after the moment of attack, was also submitted to the prosecutor’s office as evidence. Hakan Yaman’s wife Nihal Yaman and his lawyer Elif Eylem Kınacılar made a statement about the issue.
HE WAS ONLY ABLE TO DESCRIBE THE EVENT THROUGH HAND GESTURES
Hakan Yaman is unable to talk and continues to receive treatment at home. He attempted to answer the questions coming from reporters with hand and head gestures. Yaman answered the question ‘Did the police batter you?’ by nodding his head to mean yes. He answered the question about how many police officers were involved in this event by showing his hand, implying 5.
‘WHAT HAPPENED TO MY HUSBAND IS A MONSTROSITY’
His wife Nihal Yaman (32) said, ‘My family and our children have been experiencing extreme difficulties in the last few days, which we think we never really deserved. They called me on the day this event happened, and we went to the hospital immediately. His brain is injured due to the battery. My husband has never had a political problem. What happenedto my husband is a monstrocity. We were shocked when we saw him. His survival is just a miracle. My husband earns his life as a school bus driver. Our children and I have been affected very badly. I can’t take care of my children these days. He won’t be able to work as a school bus driver anymore because he lost one of his eyes. I want this case to continue to the end. I want the people who did this to my husband to be punished.’
‘HE IS NOT A PROTESTER. YET, NOBODY DESERVES THIS EVEN IF THEY ARE A PROTESTER.’
Elif Eylem Kınacılar, the lawyer of Hakan Yaman, said, ‘After my client had parked his car in a secure area due to the events on that night, he was hit with a gas bomb on the right side of his stomach while he was trying to reach his home. When he fell down on the ground, a group of police officers consisting of 5 people dragged him to the ground, and damaged an eye with an object. Afterwards, he was thrown into a burning fire. Hakan is not involved in a political group, he is not a protester. Yet, nobody deserves this even if they are protestors.’
Later, Kınacılar added that Hakan Yaman was considered to be dead and was left there. He tried to crawl and avoid the fire. And soon after some people from among public arrived there, he was taken to the hospital.
The lawyer Kınacılar stated that Yaman cannot move his jaw and there are some fractures on his face. She also added that he had had a very difficult brain surgery. There is nothing to do now, but trust the judicial process. We demand the punishment of the people who inflicted this damage on him.
THIS IS A CRIME OF TORTURE
The lawler Elif Eylem Kınacılar stated that the intervention of the police in this case was a crime of torture, and added, ‘My client was exposed to violence for minutes. As you can see, this kind of intervention is apparently torture, this is considered to be torture according to the law. Hakan Yaman has two daughters named Özlem (13) and Sıla (7).
Cengiz ÇOBAN
26 June 2013
Source; radikal.com.tr
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