Turkey Bans Citizens From Filming Police at Protests

Turkish riot police use plastic bullets securing an area during a protest against President Erdogan's appointed rector at Bogazici University in Istanbul, 2 February 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE/TOLGA BOZOGLU

"These kind of audio-visual recordings prevent them [the police] from fulfilling their duties and must not be permitted; they should prevent those taking recordings of a protest or action," the directive said.

It said legal action will be taken against any citizens who record the police in any social events.

The police claim that audio-visual recordings of officers while they are fulfilling their duties during social events violate their privacy and reveal their identities.

Rights groups condemned the new directive as blatant censorship.

The Istanbul branch of the Association of Progressive Lawyers, CHD said that it was clearly introduced to guarantee police anonymity ahead of any incidents on May 1, International Labour Day.

"If your personnel are recorded while torturing someone, this could be presented as evidence. Once again, your duty is not to torture, it is a crime!" CHD wrote on Twitter. CHD told citizens that if they see a crime being committed, they can take audiovisual recording as "evidence.".

Police brutality and torture are major problems in Turkey.

The 2021 report of the international rights watchdog Human Rights Watch, HRW, noted a rise in Turkey of allegations of torture, ill-treatment and cruel and inhuman or degrading treatment by security personnel.

"A recipe for disaster - no cameras, no accountability." Emma Sinclair-Webb, HRW's Associate Director for Europe and Central Asia wrote on Twitter regarding the latest directive.

Turkish police are known for making brutal interventions in...